


Cuz You're My Supernova

by BarryandCisco_FlashVibe



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band), SF9 (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Bts mafia, Character Death, M/M, Mafia AU, SF9 Mafia, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:34:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23905507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarryandCisco_FlashVibe/pseuds/BarryandCisco_FlashVibe
Summary: An alternate universe where aliens are known and some live on Earth. Many of them have created gangs. SF9 are aliens from the planet Soleria, and they have elemental powers. They escaped their planet when their sun went supernova and destroyed it. SF9 is a gang known as The Knights of the Sun, and they rule the streets of the city of Mamma Mia.
Relationships: Baek Juho | Zuho/Lee Jaeyoon, Kang Chanhee | Chani/Kim Youngkyun | Hwiyoung, Kim Inseong/Lee Sanghyuk | Dawon, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Seokwoo | Rowoon/Lee Sanghyuk | Dawon
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, a few notes for this story. 
> 
> 1\. Aliens are known and they live on Earth.  
> 2\. Most of the SF9 members are aliens of a race known as Solerians from the planet Soleria.  
> 3\. Solerians have elemental powers.  
> 4\. Solerians usually create children by combining their powers, hardly ever by physical means.  
> 5\. The person that nurtures the child while it is growing, before it is born, is the Mother (primary care giver). No matter the gender.  
> 6\. Yes the BTS members are in this story. They will be introduced and their roles explained.  
> 7\. The ages of the members have been changed.  
> ****Zuho (24)  
> ****Dawon (28)  
> ****Rowoon (26)  
> ****Youngbin (29)  
> ****Chani (18)  
> ****Hwiyoung (18)  
> ****Taeyang (21)  
> ****Inseong (25)  
> ****Jaeyoon (25)  
> ****Jungkook (20)  
> ****Jimin (23)  
> ****Namjoon (26)  
> ****Jin (29)  
> ****Yoongi (27)  
> ****Hobi (25)  
> ****Taehyung (23)  
> 8\. Any relationships (familial or otherwise) will be explained in the story.

Prologue

“The three heads of our family out in public together, it’s irresponsible,” Youngbin said. Even through the radio, Zuho could hear the chastisement from the older man. Even though he was the family head now, the chastisement from the older man still had the same effect as when they were kids and Youngbin would scold Zuho for sneaking out of the family compound.

“Dawon was not supposed to be here,” he said, trying to calm the older man. The hitman could be volatile when he was concerned for his family. The silence from the older man told him all he needed to know about how Youngbin felt about his attempt to placate him.

Zuho looked towards his right to see Rowoon shaking his head at his leader’s mistake. “Zuho, do not let your brother out of your sight or the elders will have all of our asses, and I’ll lock you up with him for a few days.” Zuho gulped at the threat. He may be the head of the family, but Youngbin was like the mother. Though he would never say that to the man’s face. He still remembers the first, and only, time Hwiyoung had jokingly called the man mom. For a whole month, nothing electronic worked for Hwi. Even lights went out when he entered a room, and he would receive static shocks that left his longer hair looking more like an afro than anything else.

“Shit!”

Zuho jerked up from where he was leaning against the bar observing the other patrons, scanning them for their target, when he heard his usually calm second in command curse. He turned towards where he was looking at the dance-floor and cursed when he saw their target. But it was the man with the slicked back grey hair that was trying to dance with their target that had his attention at the moment. “What is Dawon doing!” he said. Zuho winced when he heard the ‘What!’ almost screeched from Youngbin, and clicked off his earpiece so the other couldn’t hear what was being said.

“You knew letting your brother out was a bad idea, especially tonight. He didn’t even look at the mission brief Zuho,” Rowoon said.

“Letting him out to let off steam seemed better than scaring the new recruits. Again,” Zuho said, wincing when their mission target slapped Dawon across the face. He and Rowoon both started moving towards the duo at the same time as they saw Dawon’s back tense as he touch his cheek where a hand-print was beginning to appear.

Zuho wrapped his left hand around the back of Dawon’s neck when he was close enough, and pulled his brother close to him. “Sorry for my brother,” he told the man before Dawon could react. “I’ll leave the rest to you,” he said to Rowoon, before turning and dragging his brother through the crowd and out of the bar. He grunted as he was spun around and slammed against the wall. Dawon’s hand was around his neck, and his snarling face in his before he could blink. Zuho saw that is older brother’s usually grey eyes had changed to pure white and he gulped. It had been a long time since Dawon had directed that anger at him. He stared into the older man’s eyes and said, “Dawon, calm down. It’s just me.” He choked as the hand around his neck tightened and watched as his brother’s eyes flickered between a stormy grey and white as he had an internal struggle.

Zuho gasped as Dawon’s hand was suddenly yanked from is neck, and he looked up to see Youngbin and Taeyang carrying an unconscious Dawon to their truck. He made his way over to the two men as they carefully placed Dawon across the back seats. “I hope you didn’t go overboard Youngbin.”

The older man waited as his apprentice got in the truck and shut the doors before turning to Zuho and responding. “I shocked him enough to disable him and nothing more. What the hell happened? He’s never attacked you like that before.”

“Honestly, I have no idea why he reacted like that to me. Though, he was just slapped by our target, so he could have just confused me for him.”

“Zuho, stop making excuses for him. You have stepped in during some of his worst outbursts, and he has never attacked you. Never confused you for someone else. He could have killed you if Tae and I hadn’t shown up. He’s getting worse, and we can’t keep ignoring that,” Youngbin said. He knew, better than anyone other than Zuho, how much Dawon had changed over the years. He and Dawon had been best friends since they were toddlers, and the other boy had been so bright and cheerful. Now though, he feared for the man’s mind when he had more bad days than good.

“When are you going to tell Taeyang what we are,” Zuho asked, trying to change the subject. He didn’t want to think about how bad his brother’s mental state had become.

“Never,” Youngbin stated simply. “He doesn’t need to know to do his job, and he hasn’t figured it out on his own yet.”

Zuho just nodded, even though he didn’t agree. Although he was the head of the family, Taeyang was Youngbin’s ward and apprentice, so he let the older man make the decision whether to tell Taeyang what they were or not. He just hoped it didn’t blow up in his friend’s face later. Just like he hoped Rowoon would be able to fix whatever Dawon had done, and recruit their hacker.

~*~*~

“I apologize for whatever my associate did or said to upset you,” Rowoon said to the young man that had slapped Dawon.

The red-haired man scoffed and said, “Your ‘associate’ is a creep. Said I was beautiful and reminded him of his mother. Not creepy at all considering he had his hands all over my ass as he said that.” The younger man began turning away from Rowoon, saying, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m waiting for someone.”

“You’re waiting for me,” Rowoon said. His back straightened as the other man turned and glared at him.

“You? You sent me the invitation to meet here? You want to offer me a ‘position’ in your ‘organization’?”

“You are the hacker Inseong Kim, are you not,” Rowoon asked, eyeing the younger man from head to toe, knowing they hadn’t made a mistake. “You have been lying low because of all the heat you’ve been receiving lately, haven’t you?” He knew he had the man’s attention after that question because the younger man gulped and his eyes began looking around the club like he was looking for the best escape route.

“You’re not a cop, are you?” Inseong asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his button-down.

“No, but I am offering you a job. My family needs a hacker, and research shows you as the best. Is that information accurate?”

Inseong scoffs and says, “Of course I’m the best. How else would I know that the invitation I was sent was sent from The Knights of the Sun, the most notorious gang in our fair city? So, the family you speak of is really the mafia.”

“And that would be why we need the services of a hacker,” Rowoon said. “We would be willing to offer quite a deal for your services. We are willing to let you name the terms.”

Inseong gaped at the man. The man must be yanking his chain. Willing to let him name the terms of his deal? Bullshit. What was the catch? There’s always something with the mafia. “Bullshit,” Inseong said finally.

Rowoon smirked and said, “Seriously, name your terms.”

“Protection for my family, and my slate wiped completely clean. Like a brand new start. I want my family taken care of. The alien gangs have been getting too strong in their area, and I want them safe,” Inseong said.

“Done,” Rowoon agreed without pause. There was nothing to think about. They had been willing to risk a lot to employ Inseong, and his demands were almost too simple. “You will also be compensated monetarily as well of course. Even if you eventually leave our employ, you will be taken care of for life.”

“You’re serious?” Inseong was completely speechless. When he had accepted the invitation for a meeting with the second in command of The Knights of the Sun, he had expected threats and blackmail. He had never thought he would receive a blank check deal.

“You of course can change the terms of the deal at any time in the future. We value our employees, especially those with skills of such great value.” Rowoon knew that the man was going to say yes. He could tell by the way the man seemed to relax since the beginning of their encounter. The tense lines of his shoulders and back were steadily slumping in relief. He knew that Inseong had been ‘scouted’ by other families, and had let them all down in one way or another. Mostly he had hacked their organizations and caused so much havoc for those families that they had all but collapsed.

“It’s a deal,” Inseong said, offering his hand to shake.

Rowoon shook the younger man’s hand and said, “We’ll be contacting you shortly. You will be expected to move into headquarters, but can still have contact with friends and family. Good night Mr. Kim.” Rowoon left the man to deal with the decision he had made, and to tell Zuho they had got their hacker despite Dawon’s interference.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m fine Dawon. It’s okay,” Zuho said for what felt like the millionth time that morning. He had been trying to placate his brother so his eyes would go back to the same gray color as his own, instead of the greenish-brown that showed the disgust Zuho knew Dawon felt for attacking Zuho.

“No Zuho. I hurt you. I could have killed you. There are handprints on your neck!” Dawon said, throwing the chair in front of him at the wall. Zuho didn’t even flinch when the chair shattered, too used to his brother’s outbursts to react to them anymore. “It was that guy Zuho. He reminded me of mother. He was so beautiful, but he slapped me and it was like I was reliving that night all over again. All I felt was a hand on my neck and then I was being dragged away. I snapped and I could see what I was doing, but I couldn’t stop my hands from squeezing. It was like a living nightmare Zuho.” The grey-haired man looked down at his hands that were trembling violently. “These hands almost killed my baby brother.”

“Dawon,” Zuho said, but choked and he dragged Dawon into his arms. “I’m okay brother. What matters is I’m here, right now.”

“Only because Youngbin was there to zap me,” Dawon said, clinging to his brother. “Zuho, I’m scared I’ll hurt you again, or someone else I care about. I already take too much out on Rowoon.”

“Dawon, we’ll figure something out. I promise. For now though, I think it’s best if you don’t leave the family house for a while,” Zuho said. He hated that he had to confine his brother like this, but it was best for everyone. If Dawon could snap and attack him, then he could hurt anyone without question. And with Inseong agreeing to join them, Zuho didn’t want Dawon around headquarters to see the man until he was calmed down a bit.

Dawon pulled back from his brother’s embrace and said, “I agree. I’ll stay here without question for once. No need to send Rowoon to babysit.” Before Zuho could deny that’s what Rowoon was there for like he usually did when Dawon suggested it, Dawon escaped and locked himself in his room.

Zuho sighed and rubbed his face with a trembling hand. He didn’t fear his brother, even after he almost killed him last night, but he feared for his brother. Most days he even felt responsible for Dawon’s current state. Unfortunately, Zuho had tried everything he could think of to help Dawon, but nothing worked. He had resigned himself to the reality that he had lost his brother a long time ago and was holding onto a ghost that looked like the brother he remembered, but acted nothing like him. Zuho refused to dwell on that or what the future might bring for his brother. Instead, he was going to spend the day at headquarters like always, and distract himself with business.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more note, Solerians' eyes change colors with their emotions.

Chapter One

Dawon had been in his self-inflicted exile for a little over a week now, and he was getting antsy. His eyes had gone back to their normal stormy-grey color two days ago, and the metal objects in the house had stopped floating, so even though he had been determined to stay away from his family for as long as possible, he couldn’t stay in the family house another moment longer.

So, that’s how he found himself slipping into headquarters around lunchtime when he knew Rowoon wouldn’t be there to catch his ass and drag him back home. Once he was past Zuho’s office, Dawon relaxed a little and made his way towards the common area so he could maybe chill with Hwi for a bit. The younger man had become a great friend shortly after he had joined the family. Hwiyoung could look past Dawon’s outbursts and keep Dawon distracted.

Dawon slammed the door to the common area open and intended to enter with his usual dramatic flair, but was distracted by the man stretched out on the couch like he belonged there. He recognized that red hair as belonging to the man who slapped him at the club. He had overheard Zuho talking about a hacker they had recruited, but he had never imagined it could be this man.

When the other man didn’t react to the sound of the door hitting the wall when Dawon slammed it open, and Dawon was sure the man was thoroughly distracted by whatever was playing through his headphones, Dawon slunk over to a corner and collapsed into a chair. He observed the younger man as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Dawon made sure he was in a corner that was out of the other man’s eyesight, but where he could still observe the redhead. It seemed that just in the week he had been gone, the younger man had been accepted by the other members of the family. Chani had come by for a little bit to talk to the hacker, and the redhead had taken his headphones off and actually shut his laptop to talk animatedly with the youngest family heir.

Dawon noticed that Youngbin had already taken to mothering the new member, and had dropped a lunchbox into the redhead’s lap as he passed by on his way to talk to Hwiyoung. A warmth that he couldn’t name began to grow in his chest, and Dawon realized he was beginning to like the other man for reasons other than just being as beautiful as his and Zuho’s mother. The other man smiled easily and already fit well with his crazy family. Dawon could also feel a bit of the chaos swirling inside of him calm as he observed the younger man, and he was determined to keep that feeling of calm.

He sat in the corner long enough to work up the courage to approach the younger man. He would make up for whatever his mistake was the first night they met, and court the younger man properly.

~*~*~*~*~

It had been a little more than a week, eight days and seventeen hours (Zuho was counting), since they had recruited Inseong. In that time, it had been way too quiet at headquarters. It was almost eerily quiet with Dawon missing, and people were actually more on edge with him missing than when he was having one of his outbursts. It was a record amount of time for Dawon to stay away from headquarters and it was making Zuho even more afraid for his brother. Zuho was beginning to fear his older brother would never leave his room again.

At least the young man they recruited seemed to be settling well and getting along with the family like he had always been a part of it. Though he was oblivious to the tense environment that seemed to permeate rooms whenever the family heirs were in the same room together. Zuho was grateful for that. He would like to keep the hacker oblivious to the nature of their family for as long as possible.

Suddenly, his office door was slamming open and Zuho’s head jerked up to see his, usually calm, second in command panting in the doorway. Zuho was instantly alert and ready for the worst scenarios he could think of. He stood and said, “What’s going on Rowoon?”

“Dawon is missing.”

That simple sentence was enough to set off alarm bells for Zuho. “What!”

“I went to the house to bring him lunch and make sure his powers were under control, but the family house is empty except for the staff,” Rowoon said. The man was panting, and Zuho could tell that the usually calm man was freaking out, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

“Let’s check the main area. You know he’s always breaking out.” Zuho sounded calm, but on the inside he was freaking out as he made his way to the common area with Rowoon. Dawon had put himself in exile this time around so Zuho hadn’t known what to expect. He just hoped, wherever Dawon was, he had control of his powers.

Hwi was leaving the common area as they approached, and Rowoon said, “Have you seen Dawon today?”

The younger man shoved a lock of his long brown hair behind his ear and smirked, saying, “Yeah. He’s been staring at the new hacker for like three hours, but he finally made his move so I wanted to give him some privacy. Plus Tae and I are gonna go day drink.”

“Dawon’s what?!” Rowoon slammed the door of the common area open to see a fuming Inseong and a surprised Dawon. Rowoon could see that there was a stain on the front of Dawon’s shirt, and could only assume that Inseong threw his drink in his face. He looked at Dawon’s eyes expecting to see them pure white with anger, but instead he saw the icy blue of surprise looking right back at him. He saw the chain around Dawon’s neck begin to float and knew he had to get him out of their before his control broke completely. He moved forward and began ushering Dawon out of the room as Zuho moved past him to smooth things over with the hacker.

He shoved Dawon into a room far enough away from the common area that Dawon’s powers wouldn’t be detected by the human. “Calm down!”

Dawon scoffed and said, “I’m fine.” He dragged his hand through his hair and slumped into a chair. Luckily they were in the little used area of headquarters so there wasn’t much metal around to be affected by Dawon’s fraying control.

“No you’re not. Why’d you leave the house finally if you’re having a bad day?” Rowoon sat across from Dawon and boxed him in between his legs and the wall behind him.

“I wasn’t.”

Dawon’s hand started shaking, and Rowoon sighed. He took his jacket off and began unbuttoning his shirt. “You’ve been cooped up far longer than usual. You need to let off some steam.”

Dawon looked up to see more and more of Rowoon’s chest being revealed and look away, nodding even through his shame. Rowoon grabbed the older man’s chin and turned his head to look at him again. “It’s okay.” Rowoon kissed the older man and then laughed when he was dragged up by his shirt and against the table by the shorter man. He spread his legs and let the older man move closer to him.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey Tae-Tae, how was your mission,” Hwi asked as he saw the older man walking past.

Taeyang smiled and said, “It went smoothly. Chani is learning so quickly, but Youngbin keeps stepping on his toes and zapping the target with whatever special weapon you guys gave him. I feel bad for Chani.”

“Well, we have a day drinking date, so why don’t you go find us an unused room to get smashed in. I’ll go get the drinks.

“Okay!” Taeyang said, waving at Hwiyoung and skipping down the hall to find a room far enough away from the common area so their day drinking chaos wouldn’t be interrupted. Again. Last time they had been found, Youngbin had freaked out on them and berated them for what felt like hours while they were in a drunken daze. This time, Taeyang would find the best room, where no one would go. Taeyang hummed happily as he came across a door in a little used hall of headquarters. This area was so devoid of life that his footsteps echoed. It was perfect.

Taeyang opened the door, and his happy humming cut off abruptly as his wide eyes took in the impossible. He gulped and quietly closed the door before running down the hall as quickly and quietly as possible. Dawon and Rowoon? How had he never realized two of the heirs were in such an intimate relationship? It made perfect sense now why Rowoon was always the one to step in and handle Dawon, not Zuho. Taeyang gulped when he felt a painful pang in his chest. Why was he jealous? He didn’t like Dawon. But the way Rowoon had touched him so gently… Taeyang stopped and slumped against the wall. It was Rowoon that he liked, not Dawon. Of course he liked someone who was completely unavailable.

Taeyang took out his phone and hit Hwi’s speed dial. They were going out to drink, and Tae was going to get smashed in the hopes that he could forget the feeling of his heart breaking.

~*~*~*~*~

Taeyang sighed as he stepped out of his hot shower into the steamy bathroom. He wrapped a towel low around his waist and dried his hair with another. His plans to get shit-faced and forget his pathetic crush on a taken man had completely backfired. Hwi had started their drinking by knocking back several soju shots in quick succession. From then on, it had been Tae watching out for his younger friend and making sure he didn’t do something he’d regret. Again.

He had dragged Hwi, stumbling back to headquarters, and dropped the younger onto his bed and shut the door once he heard the man snoring. Taeyang had done his duty as a friend and made sure the younger man was comfortable, and had removed his shoes.

Tae pulled on a pair of sweats and headed out of the bathroom and back to Hwi’s room to check on the younger man one more time before he went to bed. He frowned when he saw that the door was slightly open. He could have sworn he closed the door all the way when he left. He pushed the door open slowly, and immediately his eyes widened and he had to bite his tongue to keep from making a noise and alert the two men in the room. Tae closed the door with a quiet click, and ran to his own room. Once the door was closed securely behind him, he slumped against it. First Dawon and Rowoon, now Chani and Hwi? Had Tae just been oblivious to the relationships of all the heirs? Taeyang took a shuddering breath and whispered to himself, “Nothing happened. If you pretend it didn’t happen, then it didn’t”

With that in mind, Taeyang got ready for bed, and was sure not to think of any of the intimate revelations he had today.

~*~*~*~*~

As Chani woke up the next morning, he became aware of a warm body curled up in his arms and using his chest as a pillow. He brought a hand up to play with the other man’s curls and smiled. He had been so excited when Hwi had come to his room last night and started flirting. He had harbored feelings for Hwi for years, and he was happy to know those feelings were returned.

Chani had enjoyed their night together, and the only thing he regretted was accidentally initiating the mating bond with Hwi. The older boy knew the family were aliens, but he didn’t know about that part of their culture. Chani had just been so happy that he had lost control of his powers for just a moment, but it had been long enough for his powers to create the bond and imprint a piece of itself on Hwi. He hoped that since his element was Earth, the change would be subtle enough that Hwi wouldn’t notice until Chani could explain to him what the bond meant.

Chani looked down as the older man began to groan and stretch against him as he woke. Hwi blinked owlishly up at him and said, “Chani? What’re you doing in my bed? Did you want to cuddle last night? You’re so cute!”

Chani was having a mental breakdown even as he stayed his usual calm self physically. Was Hwi really going to pretend like last night didn’t happen? The older boy had come to him, not the other way around. He beat himself up for thinking that Hwi had been serious about him. The older boy was a notorious playboy, and he was the master of seduction. Literally, he was in charge of the division that took on those types of missions. Chani made a quick decision to play along with the other boy and said, “Yeah Hwi, I was lonely last night since Youngbin was on a solo mission.” Chani was secretly grateful that they had put sweatpants on before falling asleep last night.

Chani carefully slipped out from underneath Hwiyoung and said, “I’m going to go take a shower and talk to Taeyang. You should sleep more.”

“Okay,” Hwi said in a sing-song voice before rolling over and starting to snore almost immediately.

Chani’s heart ached and he knew it was his own fault for just assuming the other boy felt the same way as him instead of being clear about his own feelings. Chani closed Hwi’s door and ran towards Taeyang’s room down the hall. He knocked on the older man’s door twice before opening it without waiting for permission. He entered the room to see Taeyang practicing his dance moves, and jumped on the other man’s bed, burying his head in the pillow. He was more than willing to wait as long as he had to for the older man’s advice.

He wasn’t expecting the light music to be turned off almost immediately or for the gentle touch on his shoulder. When he felt Tae’s hand on him he felt the tears finally start to fall and sat up to hug the older man before they could start to soak his pillow.

“Aww Chani, what’s wrong?”

“Tae, I did something stupid last night,” Chani said. He cringed to hear that his voice sounded whiny.

“What happened?” Tae knew exactly what Chani was talking about, and he was beginning to worry that the younger man regretted his night with Hwi.

“Tae, you have to swear not to tell Youngbin!” Chani said, sitting back and meeting the other man’s eyes. 

“Of course Chani.”

Chani stared at the other man for a few seconds, but he knew the other man would never betray him. "I love Hwi,” Chani said, pausing to see how Tae would react.

“Oh! That’s so sweet Chani!” Tae clapped his hands and smiled at the younger man. Was Chani just worried how everyone would react?

“He was flirting with me last night, so I thought that meant he felt the same way, but this morning he pretended like nothing happened. What do I do Tae-Tae!” Chani hugged the other boy and buried his face in the other’s neck. Sniffling.

Tae’s eyes widened as the younger man clung to him, he could tell that the younger man was distraught by his revelation. He just kept having flashbacks to what he walked in on last night and muttered his mantra to himself. “Pretend it didn’t happen.” 

“That’s a great idea. Thanks Tae!” Before Tae could respond and tell Chani that was a horrible idea, Chani was already out of the room. Taeyang sighed and muttered, “Great!”

~*~*~*~*~


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Inseong walked down the hall towards the common area, staring at his tablet and sucking on a lollipop. He grunted when he ran into something solid, and scrambled to catch his tablet before it hit the floor. He looked up and smiled and said, “Oh, hey Rowoon.”

“Hello Inseong. Did you eat yet?”

“Hmm, no. Dawon has been bringing me lunch the last two months,” Inseong said. He grinned when Rowoon held the door open for him.

“Really,” Rowoon asked with a brow raised and a small frown.

“Yeah,” Inseong said as he plopped down on the couch, staring at his tablet again.

“Anything else Dawon’s been doing lately,” Rowoon asked as he sat down on the coffee table in front of Inseong. He studied the other man closely as he tapped away on his tablet.

“Flowers. Lots and lots of flowers,” Inseong muttered distractedly.

Rowoon’s eyes widened and he felt cold wash over him. “And did you accept the flowers?”

“No. just the food he practically shoves in my face,” Inseong said, lowering the tablet and raising a brow in question. “Why?”

“No reason. I was just curious,” Rowoon said. He smiled, and went to stand when Inseong grabbed his arm.

“I have a question for you,” Inseong said with a frown. Rowoon sat back down on the able and tilted his head in question. “You know, I’ve been wondering. How were you all able to find me?”

“Is that all?” Rowoon said with a grin. “Bangtan. They have a hacker, so we borrowed him.”

“Borrowed a rival gang’s hacker? Is that secret code for kidnapped and murdered?” Inseong said.

“Rival gang? No, Bangtan is just a branch of our family,” Rowoon said, smirking.

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Youngbin’s cousin Namjoon leads them,” Rowoon said.

“How does no one know about this?” Inseong muttered.

“This family is good at keeping secrets. This is a secret that we want kept,” Rowoon said, meeting Inseong’s eyes and trying to convey how serious this matter was.

“Of course,” Inseong said, picking his tablet back up and going back to work.

“Have a good day Inseong,” Rowoon said, standing and making his way out of the common area and towards Zuho’s office. He needed to have a serious discussion with their leader about Dawon’s actions towards their hacker. If Rowoon was right about what the older man was doing, they needed to be prepared in case it ended badly and Dawon went on a rampage.

~*~*~*~*~

“Do you know what your brother’s been doing?

Zuho sighed and looked up from his paperwork to meet Rowoon’s gaze. He frowned when he saw the other man’s eyes were orange. “Why are you nervous?” he said. 

“I’m not nervous. I’m worried Zuho,” Rowoon said.

“Is Dawon okay?”

“No. He’s not,” Rowoon said plainly.

Zuho gulped and couldn’t stop the horrible scenarios from running through his head. What could Dawon have done that had Rowoon so worried his eye color actually changed. The other man usually had such great control over his emotions. Better than any of them. “What did he do?”

“He’s courting Inseong,” Rowoon said flatly.

Zuho gaped at the other man. He was speechless. There were literally no words he could think of in response to that revelation. His brother? Courting someone? His brother hated anyone but those he considered family. How had a human, that his brother barely knew and had insulted and assaulted his brother, gain his brother’s affection so quickly. “Are you sure?” He had to ask. Had to be sure. He had never imagined his brother ever being in love or even courting someone out of necessity. He was too far gone mentally and emotionally.

“I’m sure. He’s bringing the man flowers and food, and the night we recruited Inseong, he told me Dawon compared him to your mother,” Rowoon said.

“Shit. Did Inseong accept the flowers?”

“No,” Rowoon said.

Zuho slumped back in his chair with a sigh and closed his eyes tightly. “We need to be ready for damage control. Inseong can’t know what’s going on. With the amount of protection he requested for his family, I doubt he’d appreciate knowing he works for an alien gang,” Zuho muttered.

“Don’t worry boss. I’ll handle everything,” Rowoon said, standing and heading out of the office before Zuho could even try to protest.

~*~*~*~*~

“Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?”

Jaeyoon smirked at the redhead even though he was point a gun at him. “Chill honey, I’m just here to see my brother. Want to make sure you guys are treating him right,” He said with a flirtatious smile.

“That didn’t answer my question,” the redhead said.

Jaeyoon rolled his eyes and said, “I’m Jaeyoon. Inseong’s twin.”

“Oh,” the redhead muttered as he lowered his gun with a frown. “How’d you get in here?”

“I have my ways. Trade secret I’m afraid,” Jaeyoon said with a smirk. “Now, can I see my brother?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course,” the redhead said, motioning for Jaeyoon to follow him down the hall.” He’s in the common area,” the man said, directing Jaeyoon into a room and following in behind him.

“Seongie!” he cried when he saw his brother sitting on the couch. He ran forward to jump onto Inseong’s lap, not caring about the tablet in his twin’s hands.

“Yoon? What the hell?” Inseong said, dropping his table and catching Jaeyoon when he jumped onto him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored,” Jaeyoon said, whining as he crushed Inseong in a hug.

“So you decided to track me down and find me, where I work for the mafia?”

“Fine, I was worried, okay?”

“Well, I’m fine. Now, go home.” Inseong picked his tablet back up and proceeded to ignore his pouting brother.

Jaeyoon huffed and looked around the room, looking for someone to seduce. He saw the redhead from earlier sitting in the corner on his phone, but Jaeyoon could tell the man had either never been laid, or it had been a very long time, and he wasn’t interested in the innocent type. His eyes landed on a grey-haired man sitting in the corner and he could sense an intense energy from the other man, and he smirked. He stood and made his way over to the other man. He was preparing to say something flirty when he was in front of the other man, but was interrupted.

“Move. You’re in my way.”

“Rude. Also, you’re sitting here alone. How can I be in your way,” Jaeyoon asked, crossing his arms and raising a brow in question.

The grey-haired man growled and said, “What does it matter? I said move. I’m not interested in whatever it is you want.”

“Everyone’s interested in what I have to offer,” Jaeyoon said, glaring. 

“Not me,” the grey-haired man said, gritting his teeth and standing. He brushed past Jaeyoon and stomped out of the room, and Jaeyoon followed him with slitted eyes. No one ever denied him. Something weird was going on here and he would get to the bottom of it.

~*~*~*~*~

Jaeyoon watched the grey-haired man fawning all over Inseong, lips pursed as he remembered the man brushing off his advances. This never happened. No one had ever been more interested in Inseong than him. But, just because he seemed to be a loyal man to his brother, didn’t mean he was a good man. Yoonie’s eyes scanned the common room trying to find someone he could interrogate about the man pursuing his twin. Everyone was either lounging around after finishing lunch, or having a late lunch. His eyes landed on the black-haired leader who was talking to the red-haired man that had pointed a gun at him earlier.

Even though he had only been here for a day, he had already learned a lot just by sitting back and observing. For example, he knew the main family members were aliens, and he had no clue how Inseong had not noticed yet. Their mother dealt with enough aliens their entire life, that Inseong should have been able to pick up on the same signs as Jaeyoon. IF he wanted to get info on Dawon, then he would try to seduce the man’s brother for the info. Zuho wasn’t the typical guy he would go for, but he could make a sacrifice for Inseong. Plus, he would be his first alien, so it was a win-win scenario for Yoonie.

He watched as the red-haired man moved to talk to the tall second-in-command, and in a flash Yoonie was up from his seat and sashaying over the younger man’s side. He leaned on the table the man was sitting at, and made sure his best asset was on display; his ass in his tightest jeans. “Hi,” he said, his voice like honey, and with a dimpled smile.

Zuho’s eyes widened as he took in the vision before him. His eyes flicked over the man’s ass that was being hugged by a nice pair of black jeans and flicked back up to his eyes as he gulped. “Uh, hello,” he said. He was wondering who this man was and why he was here, but if Rowoon wasn’t concerned, he wasn’t either.

“You look stressed. Let me help you fix that,” Yoonie said, stroking the younger man’s arm.

Zuho gaped at the blonde man and said, “What?” was this one of Hwi’s boys that he hadn’t met yet? He was really good at his job if he was.

“Come on,” Yoonie said, grabbing the younger man’s hand and pulling him out of his chair, and towards the door.

Zuho followed the other man in a daze. His eyes kept zeroing in on the blonde’s ass as he walked with a swing to his hips. He knew it was probably a bad idea to give in to this man’s seduction, not knowing who he was or his intentions, but he couldn’t even remember the last time he got any action from more than just is hand, and the man was right, he had been stressed lately. Even though Dawon had been doing well the last month, the night he attacked him kept haunting his dreams. The look in Dawon’s eyes kept clashing with the memory of the bright happy boy his brother was when they were young, and he worried for the man his brother was becoming. Zuho needed a distraction, so he figured he could be selfish and stupid for once and sleep with the first man in years that had been brave enough to approach him. Even if he did end up being one of Hwi’s boys.

~*~*~*~*~

“Who was that?” Taeyang said as he watched their leader be dragged off by a sexy blonde man.

“Inseong’s twin brother,” Rowoon said as he studied the chess board on the table between him and Taeyang. He moved one of his pawns innocently before looking back up at the younger man.

“They look nothing alike,” Taeyang muttered as he stared back at the chess board.

“Hmm, I think they look a lot alike,” Rowoon said.

“Really,” Taeyang asked, moving a piece forward distractedly.

“Yeah. I also think we’ll be seeing a lot more of him after today,” Rowoon said with a smile, smirking as he moved another piece. “Check mate.”

Taeyang frowned at the board and then looked back up at the older man with a pout. “You always find a way of distracting me from the game.”

Rowoon smirked and said, “You’re too easy Taeyang.”

~*~*~*~*~

Yoonie stared straight ahead as the black-haired leader, Zuho he reminded himself, rolled over and they both tried to catch their breath. Yoonie will admit, only to himself of course, that he was impressed by the younger man’s skills. None of Yoonie’s numerous previous boyfriends or one-night-stands and hookups had ever left him this satisfied. Suddenly, Yoonie remembered why he had approached and seduced Zuho in the first place. Dawon and Inseong. He turned over to look at Zuho, who was already staring at him. Yoonie smirked, knowing he already had the younger man hooked. “So, about your brother, is he a good man?” he said.

Zuho’s brow furrowed as the man he had just had world-altering sex with asked him about his brother. Needless to say he was confused, and he felt a jealous pang that he fought down quickly. He had literally just met this man, and although he was beautiful and the sex was fantastic, there was no reason for him to feel jealous. Especially since it was expected for one of Hwi’s boys to have no romantic attachments.

Before Zuho could respond, the blonde was continuing. “Dawon seems to be obsessed with my brother, and I want to make sure he doesn’t make a habit of hurting those he cares about.”

“Who is your brother?” Zuho said.

“Inseong of course. He’s my twin. Have you not noticed how your brother has been all over him? I’ve only been here a day, and it’s plain your brother is gone on Inseong.” Yoonie gave Zuho a look like he thought he was crazy for not noticing Dawon’s infatuation. Zuho had no words though. He had known why Dawon was having so many good days lately thanks to Rowoon, but how did this man know just by observing for a few hours? “You didn’t answer my question,” Yoonie said, stroking Zuho’s arm and pouting.

“Dawon would rather die than hurt someone he loves. He’s fiercely protective,” Zuho said.

Yoonie clapped and smiled, jumping from the bed and pulling on the closest pair of pants. By the looser fit he could tell they weren’t’ his own. “Well that’s all I needed to know.” He turned back to look at the younger man as he opened the door. “I’ll be back though,” he said, blowing the man a kiss and bouncing out of the room like an excited puppy. He had a certain grey-haired man to conspire with.

As the door closed behind the blonde, Zuho shook his head. He was so confused by what just happened. All he knew is that he hoped the older man kept his promise and came back around.

~*~*~*~*~

Hwiyoung wasn’t sure what he had done, but his best friend was now ignoring him. Yeah, he liked to flirt with Chani because he loved the boy, but he knew there was no way the boy could love him back so it was innocent. Right? Did Chani finally get fed up with his flirting and decide to ignore him and actively avoid him? Hwi sighed as he watered his plants. He frowned when he noticed one of the flower buds was much bigger than usual and still hadn’t opened even though everything else had already opened. He shrugged and watered that pot, hoping it would open soon. Each one of his plants was like his child, and he got so excited when they grew.

He placed the watering can back in its place and decided it was better to go confront Chani. As he was leaving the greenhouse, he failed to notice how the plants seemed to move to face him as he passed by them.

~*~*~*~*~

Yoonie bounced into the common area, shirtless and waring Zuho’s pants, and probably smelling of sex. He smirked as the adorably innocent red-head choked on his drink and stared at the pants he was wearing. He headed straight to Dawon’s side where he was pouting in a corner because Inseong kept ignoring him. Yoonie sat down in front of Dawon, cutting off his view of Inseong and saying, “Hi!”

“First of all, I already told you no,” Dawon said, frowning at Yoonie before looking down at the pants he was wearing. He smirked and said, “Second of all, thank you for bedding my brother. His dry spell has lasted far too long.”

Yoonie smirked and said, “That was no hardship, I assure you. And, I plan to continue helping in that department for the foreseeable future.”

Dawon threw his head back and laughed so hard he cried. Yoonie could see the redhead giving hem and odd look, and he smiled. “So, your brother sang your praises so I’m here to make sure you know what Inseong likes.”

Dawon stopped laughing and gaped at the blonde. “What?”

“Yeah. This is me giving up my approval to pursue my twin. Don’t fuck it up or I’ll cut off your balls.”

Dawon gulped. It had been a long time since anyone was brave enough to threaten him. He could tell Jaeyoon was completely serious in his threat too. He didn’t plan on doing anything to fuck this up though.

“Now, I saw you try to give him flowers today, but they were red. Inseong’s favorite color is pink. Also, he loves snacks.” Yoonie winked and patted Dawon on the shoulder before standing. “Good luck! You’re going to need it. Inseong is a tough nut to crack.” With that said, he turned from Dawon, intent on getting his clothes back from Zuho’s room and maybe trying to convince him to go another round, but he bumped into a shorter man with longer hair.

“Sor-,” the man began before his eyes zeroed in on his pants and then up to Yoonie’s chest, then his face. The other man smirked and said, “Did you actually manage to sleep with Zuho? Or are those just eerily similar pants to his?”

Yoonie smirked and said, “Oh they’re his alright.”

The younger man wrapped an arm around Yoonie’s shoulder and pulled him to start walking out of the common room with him. “How would you like a job?”

“What would this job entail?” Yoonie asked, completely forgetting about his clothes as the younger man described his potential job. Getting paid to seduce beautiful men? What was there to think about? “I’ll do it!” he said. Plus, he could keep an eye on Inseong if he stuck around.

~*~*~*~*~


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Hwiyoung sighed as he entered the common area. He had been so distracted by recruiting Inseong’s twin brother Jaeyoon, that he had forgotten about wanting to confront Chani about why the boy was avoiding him. Now, he was going on three days that he had been trying to track the boy down. They used to spend so much time together, but now it had been almost two weeks since he’s seen the younger boy for even a second.

“Hey Hwi,” Inseong said from where he was sitting on the couch, one hand holding his tablet and the other blindly searching through a pile of sweets.

“Hey, by any chance have you seen Chani?” Hwi said.

“Hmm, I think he went out with Youngbin this morning. Something about a monthly check in?” Inseong said, unwrapping a chocolate and popping it into his mouth. “Why?”

“No reason. Thanks Inseong,” Hwi muttered.

“No problem. Oh!” Inseong dropped his tablet to stare at Hwi.

“Yeah?”

“I was curious. About how you got involved in all this. You’re not part of the family, so you weren’t born into it,” Inseong said.

Hwiyoung plopped down on the couch on the side of Inseong that wasn’t occupied by a pile of snacks. “Well, I guess you could say I was saved, or found. Or both really,” he said with a sigh.

“What do you mean,” Inseong asked.

“Well, I was thirteen when my parents sold me to a gang to pay off their debt. Let’s just say I went through training that explains my position in the Knights of the Sun,” Hwi said.

“Oh damn,” Inseong said, eyes wide and forgetting all about his snacks in favor of hearing Hwi’s story.

Hwi hummed and said, “Well it was my first day out of training and on the streets, when this dude came out of nowhere and told me to take my chances and run. I don’t know what about him told me I could listen, but I did.” Hwi frowned as he remembered that day. He had a clear picture of the man’s face in his memory. He didn’t think he could ever forget the man. “But then, Chani walked past and pretty much adopted me and took me home with him. Youngbin practically raised me after that, and the family paid off my debt.”

“Wow! You have good luck,” Inseong said.

“Or a guardian angel,” Hwi said, smiling as he thought of his savior. He wished he knew who the man was so he could show him how grateful he was.

~*~*~*~*~

It had been seven years since Hoseok’s parents died and left him with an uncle that wanted nothing to do with him. Seven years since his uncle had sold him to the local human gang to pay off his gambling debts. It had been six years since his “handlers” had decided his constant fighting against their “training” was a sign of character or strength, not insolence. Six years since he had started training as a hitman instead of… Well, Hoseok didn’t like to think about that part of his life. He barely liked to think about his life currently, but he didn’t see a safe way out of it since he had been in this life for so long already.

Hoseok sighed and fixed his leather jacket as he got out of his car. He had seen some of the new recruits being sent to this part of town, and even if it meant his head on a platter, he wanted to be able to help even just one of them get out of this life. He felt like all of his sins could be forgiven if he could help even just one of them. Then he could die happily. Oh, he knew he’d still go to Hell for what he’d done in his life, but he could at least feel happy about dying. If he was being honest with himself, he was ready for it to be over so he could be done killing innocent people.

He rounded a corner and saw a thin boy standing at the opening of the alleyway. The boy looked to be about the same age Hoseok had been when his uncle sold him, and thinner than Hoseok thought was healthy. The boy’s light brown hair was hanging limp and there were circles under his eyes too dark for comfort.

As he approached the boy, Hoseok could tell it was the boy’s first time out of training because he flinched as Hoseok got closer. Hoseok put his hand up to calm the younger male and before the boy could say anything, Hoseok said, “Don’t say a word. If you want out of this life, I suggest you come out of the alley and someone may help you, or you could make it on the streets alone better than staying here.”

“What?” The boy just looked at Hoseok with wide innocent eyes, and Hoseok was even more determined to help this boy. He reminded him too much of himself.

“Go! I’ll make sure you aren’t followed.” When it looked like the boy was just going to continue staring at him, Hoseok said, “Now! Go!”

The boy bolted, looking back towards Hoseok only once. By some miracle, or fate, the boy bumped into another boy as he was leaving the alley. Hoseok watched with hope choking him as the orange-haired boy smiled at the other and once he was bundled up, started dragging the brown-haired boy down the street with him. Hoseok decided to trail the boys to make sure that the brown-haired boy truly was safe. Then, Hoseok would go back to face the music. He knew he had a reputation as Mamma Mia’s top hitman, and that saving tis boy would not have gone unnoticed.

Hoseok was feeling a warmth in his heart that he hadn’t felt in many years and had thought he had lost the ability to feel all together. The brown-haired boy was quiet as he was dragged along by the happily chattering orange-haired boy. As they entered the territory of the Knights of the Sun, Hoseok stayed back a bit further and smiled a small smile when he saw the boys enter the alien gang’s headquarters. The Knights of the Sun had a good reputation, and they could protect the boy from the backlash of leaving his unfortunate life behind. Hoseok’s good feeling was short-lived though, because once the boys had entered the headquarters, he was being shoved into a wall hard enough to have his head bounce off it, and his teeth clack together. He groaned and looked down to see blurry black hair and a face scowling at him before the black spots took over his vision and he passed out.

~*~*~*~*~

“Yoongi! I told you not to capture the most notorious hitman Mamma Mia has ever seen!” Namjoon had accidentally broken his phone after Yoongi had hung up when he was trying to tell him that thirty minutes earlier, and now he had broken his favorite chair when he jumped up from his desk as Yoongi dragged the unconscious man into their headquarters. He felt like a teenager again, unable to control his powers which was making a breeze knock shit down through the hallways as he stalked after a struggling Yoongi.

“I already had him in my trunk. I want to know why he was trailing the youngest member of our family. If there’s a hit on Chani we need to know.” Yoongi grunted as he tossed the hitman into a chair and proceeded to tie him tightly to it. Yoongi panted and glared at the pink-haired man. “Thanks for the help Joon.”

“Yoongi, I know we have this whole thing where you don’t follow my orders but still get shit done, but there are times where my orders are non-negotiable. Like when you bring the number one hitman into our headquarters! His people WILL be looking for him if he’s missing.” Namjoon ran a hand through his pink hair in frustration. The shorter man was trying to send him into an early grave with the stress.

“Joon this is Chani we’re talking about. As much as I hate our family, figuring out why this piece of shit was trailing the baby is worth whatever risk.” Yoongi kicked the unconscious hitman as he said this, hoping he’d awaken, but he was disappointed when the man didn’t even react.

Namjoon sighed and said, “Fine. Get all the information you can from him, then clean up your mess.”

“Yes mom,” Yoongi said. He smirked as Namjoon scowled at him before leaving the interrogation room. He turned back towards the other man when he heard him groan.

“What the fuck?” Hoseok said as he struggled against the ropes tying him to the chair. He looked up to see a black-haired man grinning at him. It was a grin that made a cold wave of dread run through his whole body. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Let’s not play games H. You know who I am, and I know who you are,” Yoongi said as he moved to sit on the table in front of the other man.

“Tch. Fine. What do you want Suga?” Hoseok knew of the second in command of Bangtan. Everyone in his line of work did. He also knew the man was ruthless and showed no mercy I want to know why you were following the youngest Knights of the Sun heir.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Hoseok said.

“Bullshit,” Yoongi said, backhanding the hitman.

“Hey, what the fuck! I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hoseok said. He blinked a few times and shook his head, trying to get the ringing out of his ears. For such a small guy, Suga could strike a strong hit.

“Think I’d believe scum like you?”

“You know nothing about me.”

“Killing women and children? Tch, I know enough to know that scum is an understatement,” Yoongi said, feeling a large amount of glee at the flinch his words caused. Maybe the hitman still had a soul after all. Good. He could use that.

“Fuck you man! You think I like my job? Ha! I pray every day that my next target will take me out before I take them out.” Hoseok lowered his head. The weight of his six years of guilt weighing him down all at once.

Yoongi grabbed the hitman’s chin and yanked his head back up to meet his eyes. “I don’t believe a word you just said. Now, tell me why you were following Chani.”

“If Chani is that orange-haired boy, I was only following him to make sure the boy with him was safe. I wanted to make sure one boy escaped the life I couldn’t.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“That brown-haired boy?” Hoseok said, looking straight into Suga’s eyes. “Just like me he was destined to spend the rest of his life doing something he didn’t choose for himself, so I helped him escape his destiny like I wish I had been able to escape mine.”

“I don’t believe for a second that a hitman of your caliber didn’t choose this line of work,” Yoongi said, scowling at the other man.

“Believe what you will, but if my uncle hadn’t sold me into it, there would be no H.”

Yoongi stared at the hitman for what felt like ages to both of them, before leaving the room without another word spoken between them. He had a prickly pink-haired leader to convince that keeping a well-known hitman was a good idea.

~*~*~*~*~

Chani trailed behind Youngbin as they entered Bangtan’s headquarters. As they walked through the halls, everyone they passed jumped to attention and bowed deeply when they saw Youngbin. Sometimes Chani forgot how highly respected his brother was. He mostly saw the annoyingly doting older brother or the innocent guy that had sacrificed a love life to raise three boys. A man who had struggled with the elders’ expectations for heirs for years. He always forgot that Youngbin was a high ranking member of their family, and a highly respected hitman.

Chani frowned as a red-haired man came out of his cousin’s office. He hadn’t met the non-family members of Bangtan before, but he felt like had seen this man somewhere before.

“Oh, hey Hoseok,” Youngbin said, and the redhead stopped and smiled.

“Hey Bin,” Hoseok said. “Oh, is this Chani?”  
“Yep,” Youngbin said with a proud smile.

“Nice to finally meet you kid,” Hoseok said with a huge grin.

“I feel like I’ve met you before,” Chani muttered.

“Nope, I would have remembered,” Hoseok said. He patted Youngbin on the shoulder before heading out of the common room.

“Come on,” Youngbin said, leading Chani into Namjoon’s office. “Hey Joon. Monthly report ready?” he said as he sat on the edge of the other man’s desk.

“Oh, hey Bin. Yeah…um…hold on, let me get it for you,” Namjoon said, standing to grab a folder out of the file cabinet.

“Thanks,” Bin said when the younger man handed him the folder. “Anything else you need or want to report this month?”

“Nothing monumental, but the Reds have been suspiciously quiet lately,” Namjoon said as he sat back down.

“The Reds,” Chani asked.

“Red Dragons. Not particularly original name on their part, but they’re usually the biggest thorn in our side,” Namjoon said.

Youngbin frowned and said, “Alright, I’ll let Zuho know.”

“Thanks Bin. How’s he been?”

“You know Zuho. Works too hard, and never stops,” Bin said.

“And Dawon?” Namjoon whispered.

Youngbin gave Chani a look and the younger boy rolled his eyes before leaving the room. Did Bin really think he was blind to what was going on in their family?

“That bad?” Namjoon said as the door closed behind the youngest heir.

“He attacked Zuho,” Youngbin said.

“Damn.” Namjoon sighed and slumped back in his chair.

“Yeah, so Rowoon is keeping a much closer eye on him,” Youngbin said.

“Let me know if there’s anything Bangtan can do to help,” Namjoon said with a pained smile.

“Thanks Joon. Take care of yourself okay?” Youngbin said as he stood to leave.

“You too Bin,” Namjoon said as the older man left the room.

~*~*~*~*~


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Youngbin sighed as he knocked on Namjoon’s door. When the door opened a few seconds later, he nodded at Yoongi and sat down in front of Namjoon’s desk. “Back so soon cousin?” Namjoon said.

Youngbin shook his head, leaning forward and saying, “The annual reports I collected last week. They’re from last year Joon.”

“What?! But I had Yoongi do them. He said they were fine,” Namjoon said.

“I did do them, and I put them on your desk,” Yoongi said, crossing his arms and glaring at Namjoon from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Well, the numbers don’t lie, and I double and triple checked the reports from last year myself. They’re exactly the same,” Youngbin said.

“Yoongi did the paperwork and he said that the numbers were good,” Namjoon said.

“I did do the paperwork and the numbers were good and they were definitely from this year. I put them on your desk,” Yoongi said.

“My des…” Namjoon said, touching his desk with glazed eyes.

“Mhm, last week. What did you do last week?” Yoongi said, huffing at Namjoon’s confused, questioning eyes.

“I spilled my coffee and had to clean my desk?” Namjoon said, and Yoongi could tell Namjoon was asking him if he remembered correctly.

“Mhm, and what did you do with the report?”  
“Uhhhh…I put them…” Namjoon gulped and scratched his head as he tried to remember where he put the annual report.

“Yeah, and where did you get the report you gave to Youngbin.” Yoongi asked.

“From that file cabinet,” Namjoon asked, pointing to the file cabinet beside Yoongi.

Yoongi sighed and shook his head, saying, “That’s where we put the old reports Namjoon.”

“Oh,” Namjoon said.

“And why is Yoongi doing your reports for you Joon?” Youngbin said, raising an eyebrow at his cousin.

“Would you really trust me to get them to you safely Bin?” Namjoon said sheepishly.

Youngbin sighed, leaning back and rubbing his face. “Just, redo the reports and I’ll be back for them Friday,” Youngbin said, standing up to leave. As he reached the door, he turned back and said, “Don’t lose Yoongi’s hard work this time Joon.”

He laughed when the door closed and he heard Yoongi start berating Namjoon for being careless. Youngbin headed through Bangtan’s headquarters towards the entrance. He was passing through the common room when he bumped into someone. “Oh, hi Jungkook,” he said, smiling at the younger man.

Jungkook dropped the bag he was holding and stared at Youngbin with wide eyes. “Y-y-y-youngbin! Hi!” he said, voice breaking as he spoke to the older man.

Youngbin smiled and ruffled Jungkook’s hair. The boy’s stuttering and clumsiness reminded Youngbin of the ten-year-old he had defended so many years ago. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well with Bangtan. It was good seeing you again,” Youngbin said. He ruffled Jungkook’s hair one more time before saying, “Hope to see you next time I’m here.”

“B-b-bye Youngbin!” Jungkook said, waving at the man’s back as he left. As soon as the door closed behind the older man, Jungkook spun around and glared at the person who had been staring at him the whole time he interacted with Youngbin. That person just happened to be his older brother, Jimin. “What?”

“What was that about?” Jimin said. He squinted at his little brother like he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

“What was what?” Jungkook said, trying to walk past his brother and avoid this line of questioning.

“No one’s allowed to touch you like that, and you just melted when Youngbin did,” Jimin said, grinning at his little brother’s grimace. He ruffled his brother’s hair and smirked when his hand was smacked away. “See? My point exactly.”

“Tch, shut up!”

“Also, since when are you a clumsy, stuttering fool in front of any man?”

“He startled me. I haven’t seen him in years,” Jungkook said. He had his arms crossed and he was pouting for the first time in years.

Internally Jimin was cooing, he missed when his little brother acted this cute. “Mhm, startled you. Just admit you love Youngbin so I can help you seduce him,” Jimin said.

Jungkook groaned and covered his burning face. He hadn’t felt this embarrassed in years. He had wanted his first interaction with Youngbin to go completely differently. And definitely not with an audience. “I don’t just love Youngbin, Chim. I imprinted on him.”

Jimin gasped and grabbed his brother, dragging him to the couch by his arm. He pushed him down on the couch and said, “When did this happen? And how could not tell me something so important?”

“It happened when I was ten?” Jungkook said.

“Ten?” Jimin tackled Jungkook and put him in a (loose) headlock. “What do you mean ten? That’s eight years you’ve gone without telling me you IMPRINTED!”

Jungkook kicked his brother in the shin and jumped up from the couch when he released his headlock. “You tell anyone and, brother or not, I will kill you.”

“Junkook, you need to tell him,” Jimin said.

“I’m not kidding Jimin. I will tell Taehyung all of the men and women you have slept with, and all of the lewd activities you’ve participated in. You know he’s a germaphobe, he’ll never let you touch him again.”

“Fine! Pine! Get weakened by avoiding your imprint! See if I care,” Jimin shouted, stomping off to find Taehyung.

Jungkook sighed and collapsed back on the couch. Jimin was right, avoiding his imprint this long was weakening him, but he didn’t know how to catch the older man’s attention. He had been courting the man for four years with traditional gifts for Solerian courtship, but Youngbin hasn’t seemed to notice his intentions yet. If he had, he wouldn’t have petted his head like he was a child today. Jungkook was going to have to step up his game.

~*~*~*~*~

Youngbin walked into Bangtan’s headquarters late on Thursday and smiled at Jungkook as he passed him in the hall on his way to Namjoon’s office. He didn’t notice the younger man trip over his own feet or the younger man’s eyes following him as he walked down the hall. He knocked on Namjoon’s door and then let himself in. “Hey Joon,” he said, smiling as the other man sputtered, and spun around in his chair, knocking his paperweight off his desk. Youngbin caught the paperweight and returned it to its spot on the desk.

“Binnie! You’re early!” Namjoon said. His face was flushed and he was avoiding making eye contact with his cousin.

“Mhm, and Jin is hiding behind you,” Youngbin said.

Jin popped up from behind Namjoon’s chair with a smirk and said, “Hey Bin! Long time no see!”

Youngbin frowned and said, “Hey Jin. Corrupting my cousin I see.”

Jin smiled and said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. He asked me here, not the other way around. Your cousin is insatiable.”

“Jin!” Namjoon said. He glared at the other man who just laughed as he ran from the room. Namjoon saw Youngbin’s frown and knew the older man was disappointed in him. “Sorry Binnie.”

“Never mind. Just give me the reports Joon.”

Namjoon grabbed the reports from the corner of his desk and handed them to his cousin. If he looked close enough, he could see pale pink eyes past the sunglasses the older man hadn’t bothered taking off. He knew his cousin was still pretty innocent when it came to intimacy so he wasn’t surprised the older man was embarrassed.

“I’m really sorry you had to see that Bin,” Namjoon said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m just concerned Joon. I didn’t know you were still messing around with Jin without telling him you love him.”

Namjoon choked on air and stared wide-eyed at Youngbin. “What?” he said, his voice coming out more like a squeak than anything else and he could feel his face heating up with a flush.

“Joon, you think I don’t know when you’re in love? I knew when you had that obnoxious crush on Yoongi which was actually misplaced admiration,” Youngbin said. He frowned at his cousin.

“Oh my God!” Namjoon said. His head fell and rested on is cold desk. He was trying to cool down his burning face.

“I’ve raised three boys Joon, I know the signs of a boy in love,” Youngbin said.

“Please stop talking,” Namjoon said. He wished the floor would just open up and swallow him so he could escape this situation.

Youngbin stood up and said, “Think about it Joon. You’re hurting yourself by not being honest about your feelings. He ruffled Namjoon’s hair for the first time in years, then left his cousin to think over what he told him. As he closed the door behind him, a bouquet of red roses was shoved in his face. He grabbed the bouquet and pulled it down so he could see who was giving them to him. “Oh, hi Jungkook,” he said, smiling widely at the younger boy.

“H-hi! I heard you love red, so I got you those,” Jungkook said. Internally he was beating himself up for still stuttering in front of the older man. Youngbin was just so cute he just couldn’t help it. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled certainly didn’t help either.

“Thanks Kook,” Youngbin said, smiling as he patted the younger man’s head. “You don’t have to keep getting me gifts, but I really like roses.”

Jungkook felt a pang in his chest when Youngbin patted his head and told him he didn’t need to give him gifts any more. He didn’t know how oblivious and innocent this man could continue to be, but all he could do was stare at Youngbin wide-eyed as the older man left.

“You know, he’s never going to figure it out unless you tell him, right?

Jungkook turned to see Namjoon frowning at him. “It’s none of your business boss,” Jungkook said, turning to walk away.

Namjoon grabbed Jungkook’s arm to stop the boy from leaving. “He’s my cousin and I know how oblivious it is when it comes to his own love life. He’s never going to take you seriously because he still sees you as that ten-year-old he defended. You need to tell him about imprinting…”

“Don’t talk about that like you understand it,” Jungkook snapped. At Namjoon’s quirked eyebrow, Jungkook sighed and rubbed his face. “Sorry boss, but you can’t preach to me when you are standing there hiding your love for Jin.”

“oh my God!”

Both Namjoon and Jungkook jumped at the exclamation and turned to see Jin standing in the doorway of the common room, eyes wide and a hand covering his gaping mouth. Jungkook gulped, took one look at a shocked looking Namjoon, and ran out of the room as fast as he could.

“Jin,” Namjoon said, but he couldn’t think of anything to say to fix what Jungkook had unintentionally done.

“I love you too, you idiot,” Jin said.

Namjoon’s eyes widened and he gaped at the other man. “What?”

Jin closed the distance between he and Namjoon in just a few strides. He cupped Namjoon’s cheek and said, “I have loved you for years Joon. It’s the reason I followed you when you left the main family.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Jin said. He stroked his thumb over Namjoon’s lips a few times before giving him a quick peck. “We’re both idiots.”

Namjoon laughed and leaned his head forward, resting his forehead on Jin’s. “Yes we are,” he said.

~*~*~*~*~


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

It had already been a few months since Inseong had joined the Knights of the Sun, and in that time, he had gotten used to getting lunch and snacks given to him. It had started with Youngbin bringing him lunch, and then Dawon had taken over and had also taken to giving him snacks. He kept getting this warm feeling whenever he thought about being cared for. Inseong could admit he wasn’t exactly in tune with his feelings, but he was almost certain the warm feeling was because of Youngbin, so he started seeking the older man out more to spend time with him.

Even though he accepted the food Dawon would bring him, he still despised the man and refused to accept the flowers he’d bring even though they’re always beautiful. The grey-haired man was too volatile for Inseong’s tastes and the things he said always made Inseong want to punch him in the face even though he was a pacifist. Lately, Dawon had become even more volatile and insufferable, so Inseong sought out Youngbin’s company more frequently so he could avoid the grey-haired man and his outbursts.

Today was Inseong’s first truly free day since he had started his new job, and he was taking advantage of it. He had slipped the guards Rowoon had insisted he take with him and was enjoying a mafia-free day at his favorite café with a new book. He felt his phone vibrate and looked over to see his twin was calling. He sighed. As much as he would love to ignore the call, Inseong knew Jaeyoon would just keep calling until he caved and answered. He picked up his phone and answered the call with a huffed, “What?”

“When are you coming back? I’m bored. I have no missions and Zuho is busy,” Jaeyoon whined.

“Tough. I’m enjoying some alone time. I won’t be back until dinner time,” Inseong said. He ignored Jaeyoon’s whining and hung up the phone. He was abut to go back to reading his book when someone sat down in front of him. He went to tell the man he would rather be alone, but was interrupted by something being pressed up against the middle of his back.

“Hello Mr. Kim. Don’t make any sudden moves or try to call for help. My partner has an itchy trigger finger,” the man said.

“What do you want,” Inseong said, gritting his teeth.

“For you to cooperate and come with us easily of course,” the man said with a toothy grin.

“Fine,” Inseong said.

The other man nodded and motioned for Inseong to follow him as he stood and began heading out of the café through the back door. Even though his heart was pounding crazily in his chest, Inseong couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the cliché as they shoved him into the back of a van and blindfolded him.

He couldn’t tell how long they drove for, but he was well aware of the weight of eyes on him as well as the press of the gun against the side of his head the whole time. By the time the van stopped and he was being pushed out of it, Inseong was sweating and every possible scenario of what could come next was running through his brain in high-def. he was shoved down onto a chair and his arms were tied behind his back. The blindfold was ripped off and he shook his head a few times before taking in his surroundings. “Cliché,” he muttered as he took in the dimly lit, warehouse-like room he was in.

“You really are an extremely dumb smart person, aren’t you? Can’t keep your mouth shut,” a gruff voice said from behind him.

“I never claimed to have any sort of self-preservation skills,” Inseong said, trying to turn his neck far enough to see the person speaking to him, but to no avail.

The man hummed and said, “That much is quite obvious, considering you slipped your guards.”

“I guess some quiet time alone is worth dying for,” Inseong said with a shrug.

“Oh, you won’t be dying. At least not yet,” the man said, circling around to stand in front of Inseong.

“What is it you want exactly?” Inseong said, taking in every detail of the man from his receding hairline, to his yellow nails from years of smoking cigarettes.

“I want information on my enemy of course, and you have access to everything I could ever want to know about them,” he said with a smile full of yellow teeth.

“What makes you think I’ll give you what you want,” Inseong asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because if you do not give it to me willingly, I will find a way to break you and get it from you by force,” the man whispered, stroking Inseong’s cheek.

Inseong tried to hold back his shudder of disgust, but he couldn’t keep the grimace from his face. “What makes you think you can break me?” Inseong muttered.

“Every man breaks. Especially a man who has never gone through training to resist torture, the man said with a smirk.

Inseong scoffed and said, “Try me.

~*~*~*~*~

“Boss!”

Zuho looked up from the paperwork he was trying to complete to see Rowoon entering his office with a serious look on his face. He sighed, looking at the pile that he barely made a dent in and glared at the smirking blonde man that lay sensuously across the couch on one wall of his office. He shook his head and said, “What is it?”

“I believe this conversation should be private,” Rowoon said raising his brows and looking pointedly at Jaeyoon.

Jaeyoon huffed and raised up from his spot on the couch. He stretched, letting his shirt ride up to show off a peek of his abs before blowing a kiss at Zuho and strutting out of the room. He closed the door behind himself but stayed to eavesdrop.

“What’s so important,” Zuho asked.

“It concerns our hacker,” Rowoon said.

Jaeyoon’s eyes widened and he smooshed his ear to the door, hoping to hear the conversation better.

“What about him,” Zuho asked.

“His guards reported that they lost sigh of him. I’m worried that the Red Dragons may take advantage of the situation,” Rowoon said.

“Get Youngbin looking for him just in case, and don’t let Dawon find out,” Zuho said.

Jaeyoon backed away from the door and turned quietly. He made his way stealthily down the hall in search of a certain grey-haired man he knew would kill for his brother. If his brother was in trouble, he wanted the best person looking for him, and that was definitely Dawon.

~*~*~*~*~

Zuho jumped out of his seat as he heard loud crashes from the main room. He and Rowoon exchanged a quick look before rushing from the room. They skidded to a halt in the entrance to the room as they took in the destruction that was still in progress. Zuho jumped out of the way as the microwave flew past him to smash into the wall in the hallway.

“Who has him?” Dawon roared, eyes blazing white to reflect his anger.

“We’re not even sure he’s been taken,” Zuho said. He winced when the fridge began to lift from its place in the kitchen area of the common room.

“Who?” Dawon said simply.

“Zuho don’t,” Rowoon whispered. His eyes widened when the chain around his neck began to tighten, wondering if Dawon would really choke him while blinded by fury.

“The Dragons,” Zuho muttered.

“What?! THEY are involved and you wouldn’t tell ME?!”

“Brother,” Zuho began, but he was interrupted by loud crashes further into the compound.

“Don’t! Not when they’re involved and you were going to HIDE that from me Zuho,” Dawon said, eyes flickering between angry white and red of betrayal which pierced Zuho’s heart.

“Dawon you can’t be the one to go get him. Not while you’re like this,” Zuho said, pleading with his eyes, hoping his brother would see reason.

“I’d like to see you stop me Zuho. You’re only in charge because I let you be for the good of the family. Don’t test me,” Dawon snarled.

“At least take someone with you,” Zuho said.

“So they can hold me back or reign me in? No. I’ll go alone, and actually get something done,” Dawon said.

“And paint the city red with blood in the process,” Rowoon said with a scowl.

“If that’s what it takes? Yes,” Dawon said simply before brushing past them to leave the compound. “Don’t follow me. It’s better for all of us if they think I’m acting alone.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Who is this?” Inseong said as the older man let a young man into the room he was being held in. The boy was handsome, but his blonde hair hung limp and there were bruises under his eyes and, from what Inseong could see, peeking out from under where his loose button up hung off his shoulder.

“Tch, this is my son. A pitiful boy that I’m trying to make into a proper heir to my empire,” the man said, pushing the blonde further into the room.

“Empire? Really?” Inseong scoffed. He winced when the older man backhanded him.

“Jun, you will get him to talk,” the older man said.

The blonde’s eyes widened, darting up to meet Inseong’s own before darting back to the ground. Jun shook his head, flinching when his father grabbed him by the back of the neck.

“What?” he growled.

“No. I won’t do it,” Jun whispered.

“You disgust me,” the older man said, tossing Jun to the side. “Go back to Donghun. I’ll deal with you later!”

Jun trembled as he stood, peeking a pitying glance at Inseong before hurrying out of the room.

“You’re just the father of the year, aren’t you?” Inseong said, raising a brow.

“Insolent-“ the man snarled, raising his hand to strike Inseong but pausing when the door t the room slammed open.

“Boss! We gotta go! Dawon is on a rampage,” the man who entered said.

“Damn! Fine, go! We’ll leave him for now. It won’t be the last we see of each other Mr. Kim,” the older man said, smirking and stroking Inseong’s still red cheek before rushing from the room.

Inseong didn’t have much time to sit there alone before the door was crashing open again. He looked up to see Dawon in the doorway. Inseong’s eyes widened and the hairs on his arms stood up as he took in the other’s panting, blood-soaked form. He gulped and said, “Dawon?”

The grey-haired man sucked in a sharp breath through his nose before stalking into the room towards Inseong, eyes constantly flicking around the room to look for danger. “Did they hurt you?” the man grunted as he cut the ropes from Inseong’s wrists.

“No,” Inseong whispered, too afraid to mention the slaps he had received in case that information set Dawon off.

Dawon looked him over slowly before nodding and saying, “Let’s get you out of here. Your brother is worried about you,” through gritted teeth.

“Okay,” Inseong whispered, following warily behind the other man.

~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I want to apologize for the long wait. Schools in Korea started back up again like normal so I haven't had as much time to write. But, this story will be finished, so please stick with me. ^^


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Inseong sighed as Jaeyoon flitted around him opening doors and pulling out chairs for him. This had been going on since Dawon had saved him over a week ago, and it was getting tiresome. All Inseong wanted to do was forget what happened and Jaeyoon’s actions were making that next to impossible. He knew his brother was overprotective and that’s why he had dealt with it for so long, but he knew if he didn’t do something soon, he’d end up blowing up at Yoon and hurting his feelings.

Thankfully, Dawon had disappeared from headquarters right after returning Inseong, and hadn’t been seen there since. So, Inseong was able to put the bloodshed that the man had caused on his behalf out of his mind with some distractions. He had been seeking out Youngbin more than usual, hoping spending time with the older man will help him get past this. Unfortunately, Youngbin was away on a mission today, and Yoonie was getting on his nerves, and he just needed a new distraction.

At that moment Chani walked into the room and Inseong jumped to his feet. Inseong had seen other members go to Chani when they needed comfort or to vent, and they always came back out looking much lighter than they did before. “Chani!” Inseong said as he approached the younger man.

“Oh! Hey Inseong,” Chani said with a small smile. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if we could talk,” Inseong said.

“Sure! I was just grabbing some tea and snacks. Join me,” Chani said.

“That sounds great,” he told the younger man. He turned towards Yoonie who had stood up like he was going to follow them. “You’re not invited.”

Yoonie pouted and said, “But…”

“No Yoon. I love you, but I need some space. Go on a mission or go jump Zuho, but please leave me alone,” Inseong said.

“Fine,” Yoonie said, stomping out of the room.

Chani laughed softly and said, “You know he’s just worried about you, right?”  
Inseong sighed and collapsed onto the couch and said, “Yeah I know, but he’s suffocating me.”

“I get that,” Chani said, sitting a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of Inseong and sitting on the opposite couch. “I have the same struggle with Youngbin.”

“Yeah, I noticed he never let’s you go on a mission alone,” Inseong said.

Chani sighed and said, “Yeah. He’s just super protective. Of everyone.”

“He’s like a mom,” Inseong said.

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Chani said, laughing. “But what did you want to talk about?”

Inseong sighed and said, “Dawon.”

“Ah,” Chani said, nodding. “What about him exactly?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate him saving me, but the amount of bloodshed he caused that night…” Inseong said, grimacing.

Chani sighed and took a sip of his tea before saying, “First of all, look at who you work for. Bloodshed just comes with the territory, but it’s never innocents.”

“I know who I work for, but Dawon…Dawon is on another level. He is volatile,” Inseong said.

“Try not to judge him too harshly. The people who took you, the Dragons, they killed his and Zuho’s parents,” Chani said, frowning.

“That’s horrible,” Inseong said quietly. “But that doesn’t make what he did right.”

“There’s more to his story than I can tell you. Just trust me, don’t judge him too harshly, and maybe try to get to know the man behind the outbursts that you see. In the meantime, have a cookie. Youngbin made them, so they’re amazing and will make you feel better,” Chani said with a grin.

“Thanks Chani,” Inseong said, accepting a few of the cookies the boy was offering.

“No problem,” Chani said, standing and leaving the room, leaving Inseong to his thoughts.

Inseong took a bite out of one of the cookies and hummed at the taste, pleasantly surprised. H looked up when he heard the door opened and he was excited to see Youngbin walking into the common area with a tired-looking Taeyang trailing behind him. “Hey Youngbin!” Inseong said, standing and making his way over to the older man.

“Hi Inseong,” Youngbin said with a small smile as he made himself a quick sandwich.

“I was wondering…” Inseong said, trailing off as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say.

“Wondering what?” Youngbin said, sitting on one of the bar seats to eat his late lunch.

“Ummm…if you’d want to go on a date?” Inseong muttered.

Youngbin choked on the bit that he had just taken of his sandwich. Taeyang’s eyes widened and he quickly rand from the room, muttering his mantra as he went. Youngbin took a sip of water to try to soothe his throat. As much as he was attracted to the younger man, he knew Dawon liked him and he couldn’t do that to his friend. “Sorry Inseong, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.

“Why not,” Inseong asked, frowning.

“I’m a hitman Inseong. I can’t have romantic attachments that could be used against me. Especially with someone who already has a target on him,” Youngbin said. He stood from his seat, grabbing the plate with the rest of his sandwich. “Sorry if I led you on,” he said before leaving the room as quickly as he could.

Inseong gaped as Youngbin literally escaped the room. That had certainly not gone as he had expected. He sighed and slumped onto the couch dramatically. Now he didn’t have any distractions from the thoughts about his kidnapping. He grunted then decided to go hack one of their enemies.

~*~*~*~*~

“You can’t keep refusing missions I give you because they’re ugly Jaeyoon,” Hwiyoung said with a sigh, running his hands through his hair. He lost track of how many times he has had this conversation with the other man.

“I have standards Hwiyoung,” Jaeyoon said. He was laughing on the couch, staring at his cuticles before cutting them so his nails looked pristine.

“That’s not how this works! I’m your boss! I tell you what to do and when,” Hwiyoung said.

“How I see it is, I’m doing you a favor. So, if I refuse something, you should accept it graciously,” Yoonie said, grabbing his clear nail polish off the table.

Hwiyoung sighed and said, “I’ll just take it up with Zuho then!”

“Good luck” Yoonie said in a sing-song voice as he painted his nails.

Hwiyoung stomped down the hall to Zuho’s office, grumbling as he went. He knocked on the door and entered quickly when he was told to. “Yoonie refuses to take missions I give him,” he said as he flopped into a seat across from Zuho’s desk.

“Okay?” Zuho said questioningly, raising a brow at the younger man.

“He won’t listen to me. I was hoping you would try and he’d listen to you,” Hwiyoung said.

“Why is he refusing missions,” Zuho asked.

Hwiyoung sighed and said, “He says he won’t seduce anyone not as pretty as himself.”

“Oh,” Zuho said. “Well, I think that’s reasonable.”

“What?” Hwiyoung said, looking at Zuho like he had grown a second head. “No, no, don’t say anything else. You’re totally whipped! Oh my God! Ugh! I’m finding Inseong. He’s the only person who can control Jaeyoon.” Hwiyoung cursed under his breath as he left Zuho’s office, wondering when their fierce leader had become so soft.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, Inseong!” Hwiyoung shouted as he jogged towards the other man who was about to walk into the common room.

“Oh, hey Hwi! What’s up?” Inseong said, smiling as he and Hwiyoung stepped into the room together. His smile fell slightly when he noticed that Dawon was there for the first time since he had saved him.

“I need your help with your brother,” Hwi said as Inseong flopped down on the couch. He sat down on the couch opposite him with a pleading look.

“What did he do this time?” Inseong said, sighing exasperatedly.

“He’s refusing to take missions if the targets aren’t good looking enough,” Hwiyoung said with a groan.

“Oh. Is that all? I won’t interfere with that. It’s good to have standards,” Inseong said, sending a pointed look in Dawon’s direction. Inseong felt only slightly satisfied when the man flinched then fled the room. Mostly, he just felt relieved the man wasn’t trying to approach him or act like nothing had happened.

Hwiyoung grumbled and stood, saying, “Thanks a lot for your help Inseong.” He continued grumbling as he made his way up to his rooftop greenery. He had thought hiring Yoonie would make his job easier, but instead he just had another headache.

He sighed as he entered his greenery and smiled at his green babies. For some reason, his plants had been flourishing much more than usual. He frowned as he noticed how bog the one flower bud had gotten. It was now about the size of both of his fists together and still hadn’t opened up. He hummed thoughtfully as he picked up the watering can and began watering all his plants. Being in his garden was already relaxing him and relieving him of his Yoonie-induced stress. He hummed to himself as he moved on to harvesting the vegetables and was too distracted to see the plants brightening and blooming more in his presence.

~*~*~*~*~

“Is it just me, or has Hwi’s garden been providing more and more vegetables than before?” Taeyang said, staring at the chess board with a frown.

“I noticed that too,” Rowoon said, smirking as Tae continued staring contemplatively at the board.

“Do you think it’s a new fertilizer?” Tae asked.

“I bet you it isn’t,” Rowoon said with a smirk.

“I’ll take that bet,” Tae said, moving a knight forward.

~*~*~*~*~


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

“You look like shit,” Zuho said, frowning at Rowoon as the other man slumped into a seat across from him. 

“Thanks,” Rowoon mumbled, sighing and rubbing his temples. 

“Is how you look a good indication of how Dawon’s been doing?” Zuho said. 

Rowoon scoffed and said, “You could say that. I’ve been with him every night since Inseong was taken. That’s almost a month Zuho. I finally got him to stop destroying the house, but the compromise was he gets to resume interrogating prisoners,” Rowoon said. 

“You mean torturing prisoners,” Zuho muttered. 

“Exactly,” Rowoon said, sighing softly. He slumped down and let his head fall back to rest on the back of the chair. “I couldn’t take the screaming any more. I sent Hwiyoung down for a few hours.” 

“Do you think that’s wise.” Zuho asked. 

“Hwi adores Dawon, and vice versa. They’ll be fine for a few hours,” Rowoon said. 

“Then why don’t you try to rest some,” Zuho said, focusing back on his paperwork now that he knew they had no imminent worries at the moment. 

“Yeah…” Rowoon muttered noncommittedly. He sighed before standing and leaving Zuho’s office. He headed towards the common area to at least get some coffee as a pick-me-up. 

When he entered the room, he noticed it was empty except for Youngbin who was staring at his coffee cup. He grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and poured himself a cup. He turned, leaning against the marble counter and eying the older man who was still just staring at his coffee. “He took a sip of his coffee before saying, “Unless you’ve developed a new ability, that mug isn’t moving no matter how hard you stare at it.” 

“Huh?” Youngbin muttered, eyes narrowing and turning to look at Rowoon. 

“You okay, Youngbin?” Rowoon said, frowning in concern. The older man was usually hyperaware of his surroundings. Came with his job title. But today, he seemed pretty out of it. 

“Fine,” the older man muttered, standing and dumping his full cup of cold coffee in the sink, rinsing his mug, and leaving it on the rack to dry. 

Rowoon’s eyes narrowed as he watched Youngbin dump his untouched coffee and then shuffle out of the room. If the older man wouldn’t tell him what was bothering him, then he would track down his younger brother. He chugged the rest of his coffee, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. So much for resting. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“The elders,” Chani said around a bite of his sandwich. The younger boy was sitting on Taeyang’s bed, the other boy nowhere in sight, and Rowoon figured the younger boy was still avoiding Hwiyoung for whatever reason. 

He frowned and said, “They’re bothering him again?” 

“Again?” Chani said with a derisive laugh. “They never stopped. If anything, it’s been getting worse.” 

“He never mentioned it,” Rowoon said. 

“Of course not. He knows, as well as the elders do, that Zuho refuses to have kids after what happened to his and Dawon’s parents, so he doesn’t want Zuho to know that he is being pressured for heirs in his stead,” he said, taking a sip of his water. 

Rowoon sighed and said, “Still, he should have told me at least. “He’s distracted. He’ll end up getting himself killed in that headspace.” 

“You know very well Youngbin isn’t going to burden anyone else,” Chani said with a sigh. 

“No, he just holds the weight of the world on his shoulders instead,” Rowoon muttered. 

“Tell me about it,” Chani muttered, falling back to lay on Taeyang’s bed. “If you know a way to get him to lighten up, I’m all ears. I’d love to actually go on solo missions.” 

Rowoon hummed, brow furrowing as he stood. “I just may,” He muttered as he walked out of the room. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“I called Jungkook,” Rowoon said as he slumped into the same seat from when he was in Zuho’s office earlier. 

“What? Why?” Zuho said with a frown. 

“Because Youngbin is stressed out,” Rowoon said simply. 

“And you think telling the person who’s in love with him is a good idea,” Zuho said questioningly. 

“Yes. If I know Jungkook as well as I think I do, he’ll either show up and shower Bin with gifts, or just send him a bunch of gifts,” Rowoon said. 

Zuho sighed and said, “I still can’t believe he hasn’t figured out how oblivious Bin is.” 

“He’ll figure it out. Maybe this will be the catalyst,” Rowoon said. He sighed and stood. “I guess I need to check on Dawon. 

“Good idea. By the way, Tae left on a solo mission. He won’t be back for a few days,” Zuho said. 

“Explains why Chani was hiding out in Tae’s room,” Rowoon said. 

“He’s still avoiding Hwi,” Zuho asked. 

“Seems so,” Rowoon said with a shrug. He headed towards the deepest part of the compound, dreading having to deal with more of Dawon’s outbursts. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“Yo, where’s Youngbin?” 

Inseong frowned, brow scrunching up as he looked up to see a black-haired man standing in the common area holding a huge box. A black-haired man that he had never seen before. “Who are you?” he said suspiciously. 

“Jungkook. A member of Bangtan, the branch family. Nice to meet you,” Jungkook said with a grin. 

“Likewise! I’m Inseong by the way,” Inseong said cheerfully. 

“The hacker right?” 

“Yeah,” Inseong said simply. 

“Cool. You know where Youngbin is,” Jungkook asked, flicking his eyes around the room like he expected the red-head to jump out of a corner at any moment. 

“Certainly not near me. He’s avoiding me,” Inseong said with a huff. 

“Oh? Why?” Jungkook said, eyebrow quirking up in curiosity. 

“I asked him out and her turned me down,” Inseong said with a pout. 

“Good!” 

Inseong’s eyes widened and he gaped at the other man who had shouted at him. 

Jungkook looked sheepish and sighed, saying, “I meant, join the club. You’re better off being let down easy rather than not even being acknowledged as a suitor.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Inseong said, clearing his throat awkwardly. 

“No, it’s cool. I refuse to give up though,” Jungkook said, adjusting his grip on the box with a smile. “I was told he’s stressed, so I come bearing gifts!” 

“Good luck Jungkook,” Inseong said. 

“Thanks!” Jungkook said, walking from the room determinedly. 

Inseong sighed sadly. Well, as much as he had wanted to try to convince Youngbin that a hitman could have a lover, he didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. From the sounds of it, Jungkook had been in love with Youngbin for a long time, and still held onto those feelings. Story of Inseong’s life really. Relationships and romance never worked out for him. He was far from being a virgin, but nothing meaningful ever lasted for him. Or started even. He often had unrequited feelings and had his heart crushed. 

He dropped his laptop onto the coffee table and flopped over on the couch. His stomach rumbled softly and he sighed, looking up at the clock to see it was lunchtime. He had gotten so used to food being bought to him. Between Youngbin and Dawon, he never went hungry or had to worry about what to have for lunch. He sighed again, and pushed himself up to make some ramen. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“Youngbin! Finally! I found you,” Jungkook huffed as he dropped the box he was carrying down on the table next to where the older man was cleaning his guns. 

Youngbin looked up at Jungkook with a frown and said, “Jungkook? What are you doing here? Did something happen with Bangtan?!” 

“Woah! Calm down! Nothing happened. I heard you may need a pick-me-up,” Jungkook said, starting to unpack the box. 

“What is all this?” Youngbin said, frowning as he saw all his favorite snacks and a bunch of flowers being unpacked from the box. If it was anyone other than Jungkook, he’d think he was being courted. 

“Gifts to brighten your mood!” Jungkook said, holding out a large bouquet of flowers to him. 

“That’s sweet Kookie, but you didn’t have to go to all that effort for me,” Youngbin said with a small smile. 

Jungkook frowned, dropping his hand to his side, flowers still in his hand and brushing against his leg. “You always say that,” he muttered. 

“Because it’s true Kook! Before that day I defended you, we barely knew each other, and we’ve hardly seen each other since then. There’s no reason to continue showing your gratitude for something that any of the other family members would have done for you,” Youngbin said softly. 

“You still think, after all these years, these gifts are a sign of gratitude?” Jungkook whispered incredulously. He had heard Namjoon and the others when they said that Youngbin was oblivious but he hadn’t thought it was this bad. He had thought as he got older, that the older man would realize what the true meaning behind the gifts was. 

“What other reason could you have,” Youngbin asked. 

“Think long and hard about the types of gifts I’ve given you Bin, and what they mean for our people,” Jungkook said, jaw clenched tightly. 

Youngbin met Jungkook’s gaze and his eyes widened at how upset and serious the younger looked. The other had always been so bright whenever they managed to bump into each other, so it was a huge change. It made the other look more mature, and Youngbin gulped. It was at that moment that he realized that he had been blind for the past ten years. “Kook…” he said, pausing, at a loss for words. 

“Figured it out?” Jungkook muttered. 

“Kook, I…I don’t know what to say…” Youngbin said softly. 

Jungkook lifted the bouquet back up, offering it to Youngbin. “Say you’ll let me court you,” he said. 

Youngbin took a step back, shaking his head and saying, “I can’t Jungkook.” 

Jungkook took a step forward. “Why not?” he demanded. 

“Because you deserve someone better than me Kook. And, because I still see you as that crying ten-year-old who clung to my pants’ leg as I defended him from the elders of our family,” Youngbin said, shaking his head and looking at the floor. “I’m sorry, Kook.” He pushed past the younger man whose head dropped to look at the floor as Youngbin spoke. He bit his lip and ran from the room, not looking back. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“What do you mean Taeyang is overdue?” Rowoon shouted, jumping from his seat to glare down at Youngbin who had been giving his report to him and Zuho. 

“Rowoon, if you don’t sit down and get out of my face…” Youngbin said calmly, lights flickering in the room to show what he meant would happen. 

Rowoon sat, glaring at the older man and noticing the dark circles under the man’s eyes. Jungkook was supposed to help with the man’s stress. What the hell had happened? “Sorry Bin. How overdue is he?” 

“Only a couple hours at the moment. That’s why I’m worried but not surprised. This mission was supposed to be complicated, I knew he may need to lay low,” Youngbin said, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ll keep you informed. Meanwhile, I’ll be preparing to go track him down,” Youngbin said, standing without waiting for a response. 

“I don’t think Jungkook helped like you hoped,” Zuho said. 

“I guess not,” Rowoon muttered. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“It’s been ten hours since he was due back. Where is he? And why the hell hasn’t Youngbin gone looking for him yet,” Rowoon said, fuming at Zuho who was staring at him wide-eyed as he ate the sandwich Yoonie had made him. Said man was picking his nails, sitting on Zuho’s lap. 

“Youngbin has been later coming back from many of his missions and you didn’t freak out then,” Zuho said, raising his eyebrow suspiciously. 

“Haven’t you figured it out yet,” Yoonie asked without looking up. 

“What?” Zuho said. 

“He loves him,” Yoonie said simply, jumping up and prancing away. 

Zuho watched Yoonie walk away, only turning around when he heard a crash. His eyes widened when he saw Rowoon had thrown his glass at the wall and was now stalking away. He was leaning towards believing Yoonie after that. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

The door to the common area opened and everyone looked up to see a beaming Taeyang walking into the room, followed closely by an exhausted-looking Youngbin. The older man looked ready to drop at any moment. 

“Tae, you’re back!” Hwiyoung shouted, jumping up from his place sprawled on the couch to catch the other man in a hug. 

“Of course! Just hit a small snag, that’s all,” Tae said, patting Hwi’s back before pulling away from the hug. “I’m here because Youngbin insists I eat something before I shower,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

Hwi choked on a laugh and said, “Glad you’re back safe.” 

The door slammed open against before Taeyang could answer, and they looked to see Rowoon standing in the doorway, a dark look on his face. “Taeyang,” he said. 

“Hey Rowoon!” Tae said with a bright smile. 

The older man sucked in a relieved breath, letting his shoulders relax and moving to sit at their chess table in the corner of the room. “You missed our scheduled game. Sit,” Rowoon said, gesturing to the other seat. 

Tae smiled and didn’t even think about arguing. He loved the times he spent playing chess with the older man. He sat, and smiled at Youngbin as he dropped a plat of leftover spaghetti down beside their chessboard. 

Rowoon nodded at Youngbin and the older man gave him a tight-lipped smile before leaving the room as quietly as he had entered. Rowoon sighed, knowing he would need to properly apologize to the older man for his outburst about Taeyang, but at the moment he needed to enjoy this moment, reassuring himself that Taeyang was indeed back. That the younger man was in fact sage and didn’t even seem to have a scratch on him. He was in no way going to evaluate why he had reacted so explosively at the thought of Taeyang possibly being in danger other than it being concern for a friend. 

~*~*~*~*~ 


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I should warn you there is mentions of torture in this chapter, just keep that in mind. And there is character death but it isn't major characters.

Chapter Eight

Zuho started picking up his stuff in his office, and then made his way to the common area. When he stepped into the room, he cleared his throat and all of the heads in room popped up to look at him. Silence fell in the room, and he noticed Inseong looking around at all of the unusually quiet members in the room. “I just wanted to let you all know; I won’t be coming in tomorrow. Dawon won’t be here at all this week.” 

“We know boss. Don’t worry, we’ll hold down the fort. Go take care of your brother,” Hwiyoung said from his spot next to Jaeyoon. Where Zuho assumed he was trying to convince Jaeyoon of a mission he wanted him to take. 

Zuho nodded in acknowledgement and made his way out of headquarters. It was just a formality to tell them he wasn’t coming in tomorrow, but he did it every year anyway. It kept him from having to face reality for a few more minutes. He hated this day not only because of the bad memories, but also because it was a reminder of his own weakness, and the reason for his brother’s tempestuous mental state. 

He could still remember the oppressively tight feeling of being stuck in a tiny wardrobe as he heard screams, crying, gunshots, thundering feet and then silence. Silence for so long, he thought it would never end. Walls creeping closer and breath choking in his throat as his chest got heavy from his fear that there was no one left to come back for him. Zuho pulled up the driveway to the family house and put his car in park, body shaking and head coming to rest against the steering wheel as he tried to catch his breath. To this day he still had a fear of enclosed spaces. He had ended up stuck in that wardrobe for four days before Rowoon’s “dad” had ripped the doors open and brought him into her arms as she carried him out of the house. 

At that time, his eight-year-old mind was just glad to be out of the heavy silence and darkness to wonder why Rowoon’s dad was there and not one of his own parents, or even Dawon who had been the one to put him in the wardrobe and lock the door in the first place. It wasn’t until a few days later, when he had calmed down, that he found out the truth of what happened while he was in that wardrobe. 

Zuho shook himself and got his breathing under control. He made sure to compose himself and put on a brave, strong mask before he entered the house. He needed to be there for Dawon, today more than ever. He walked into the mansion that was lit sparingly and was too quiet. Usually he could hear Dawon breaking things on this day, but the house felt empty more than it usually did with just the two of them and the elders living there. Zuho knew tonight and tomorrow were the only times the elders would make themselves scarce from the family home, leaving the heirs to mourn in peace. 

Zuho just hoped the silence on Dawon’s part was not a bad sign. He went to the room where the portraits of his parents were surround by flowers and lit the candles in the room. The candles would burn until tomorrow evening. He then made his way to Dawon’s room at the end of a rarely used hall, far away from any other life in the house. Behind Dawon’s door was silence, and Zuho began to feel nervous. His brother had been doing well ever since Inseong joined them, excluding the incident when Inseong was taken, so Zuho had forgotten that Dawon had actually been worse than ever before that. Zuho knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When it didn’t come, he opened the door cautiously, hoping to be forgiven for distracting his brother, but too concerned to care about Dawon’s reaction. 

Zuho cursed when he saw Dawon’s room ripped apart but no Dawon in sight. He rushed through the house checking the usual places he frequented on this day but found no traces of him. Zuho took in a deep breath and reached out with his air powers to see if there was any hint of Dawon in the house. No, Dawon was definitely not here. Zuho ripped his pone out of his back pocket, and hit Rowoon’s speed dial, hoping they could find Dawon before he caused too much destruction. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

“Zuho?” Rowoon said as he answered the phone. His brows were furrowed and he was frowning as he said, “I thought you’d be on radio silence ‘til tomorrow evening/ Do you need my help dealing with Dawon?” 

“Rowoon, Dawon isn’t here! I need you to check headquarters, and get people out looking for him!” Rowoon could tell, from the way Zuho’s voice was shaking on the other side of the phone, that his boss was mid-panic attack. 

“Zuho! Calm down. I’ll find Dawon. Stay there and take care of yourself. I’ll keep you updated,” Rowoon said, moving towards the common area as he spoke. 

“Thank you,” Zuho whispered before hanging up. 

Rowoon put his phone in his pocket and rushed into the almost empty common area. The only people there were Jaeyoon and Hwiyoung, pouring over pictures of potential targets. They both looked up at him as he approached. “Have you seen Dawon?” he said. 

“Yo temp boss, you know he’s never here this week of the year. Plus, he’s been avoiding anywhere but with the prisoners since Inseong was taken, you know that,” Hwiyoung said, looking back down at the pictures scattered across the table. 

“I actually saw him going towards Inseong’s room,” Jaeyoon said. 

“What!” Hwiyoung said, head shooting up to stare wide-eyed at Jaeyoon. 

Rowoon didn’t even respond, he just broke into a run as he rushed to Inseong’s room. He slowed his pace as he got closer. He needed to approach cautiously in case he set Dawon off and Inseong got caught in the middle. His ears picked up the sounds of muffled sobs and quiet mutterings and coos as he got closer to the blonde hacker’s room. Rowoon opened the door cautiously and was shocked speechless by what he saw. The usually volatile Dawon had his head in Inseong’s lap, face buried in the younger man’s abdomen as he cried, and his arms wrapped tightly around the younger man’s waist. Inseong’s right hand was petting Dawon’s side and the left was stroking through his grey hair. Inseong was muttering and cooing to Dawon and looked up at Rowoon, meeting his eyes. Rowoon could do nothing but gape at the hacker, frozen in place. Inseong shook his head at Rowoon and silently dismissed him, never stopping his comforting actions or words. 

Rowoon turned, closing the door behind him, and leaning against it. He was still stunned, but he had enough thought to remember Zuho needed to be told that his brother had been found and wasn’t killing anyone or destroying anything. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Inseong’s fingers were clacking rapidly on his keyboard as he coded, and there was light music playing that he was humming to. His door opened and he sighed, looking up expecting it to be Jaeyoon trying to escape Hwiyoung for the millionth time, but was surprised to see Dawon considering he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the older man since he saved him from the Red Dragons. Inseong noticed the man’s blotchy red face and shiny eyes and could only assume the man had been crying, and for a long time. As much as he wanted to hate the other man for being so violent, he had a soft spot for people when they looked vulnerable. 

“Hey, you okay? I could’ve sworn Zuho said you wouldn’t be in all week,” Inseong said. He closed his laptop and put it on his nightstand when the grey-haired man stepped closer. 

Dawon lowered his head and said, “Can I just lay next to you as you work?” 

Inseong frowned and said, “This isn’t you going back to our usual ploy to try to get in my pants, is it?” 

Dawon looked up and Inseong choked on air when he saw the tears running freely down the other man’s cheeks. Dawon’s voice was just a whisper when he said, “Not today.” 

“Come here,” Inseong said, holding his arms out for Dawon. 

Dawon rushed forward, kneeling on the bed and burying his face in Inseong’s neck. His arms went around Inseong’s waist and he sobbed. Inseong’s arms hesitantly wrapped around Dawon and he said, “Woah! What’s going on? 

“Today is always so hard,” Dawon said, moving so he could lay down next to Inseong, burying his face in the younger man’s thigh and wrapping his arms around his waist. The closeness was a comfort he hadn’t had, without strings attached, in a long time. He loved his brother, but Zuho wasn’t always the greatest at physical affection. 

“What happened today?” Inseong said, carding his fingers through Dawon’s hair and stroking one of the arms clinging to him. 

“My parents…were tortured and murdered in front of me,” Dawon said. His grip tightened around Inseong and he shoved his face closer to his thigh, nose digging in painfully. 

“What?! Dawon, oh my God!” Inseong said. He wrapped his hand around Dawon’s shoulder gently and pulled him back enough to meet his eyes. “Hey,” he cooed. The way Dawon’s eyes were beginning to get puffy and red from all his crying caused a painful pang in Inseong’s chest. “Have you ever talked to anyone about this?” Dawon gulped and shook his head. “Not even Zuho?” Inseong said. 

“No, I can’t burden him more than I already have,” Dawon said, laying his head on Inseong’s thigh. 

Inseong stroked Dawon’s arm comfortingly and said, “It’s good to talk to someone about difficult things that happen to us.” 

Dawon turned over to lay on his back. His head was still on Inseong’s thigh and he was looking into Inseong’s eyes as he said, “Can I tell you about it?” 

Inseong’s heart stuttered in his chest when the other looked at him so earnestly as he asked him that. “Of course,” Inseong whispered. 

Dawon closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. “It happened when I was twelve, and Zuho was eight. The Red Dragons infiltrated our house. Our mom told us to hide no matter what we heard. So we did. 

Dawon can still remember the black of fear that his mother’s eyes had changed to. He remembers holding onto Zuho as the boy trembled in his arms. They could hear raised voices and thundering feet. As the sounds grew closer to the room he and Zuho were locked in, Dawon knew that they were going to be found. “I remember seeing our mom’s small wardrobe that Zuho had always hid in when we played hide and seek. It locked from the outside and didn’t look big enough to hold an eight-year-old, so I hid Zuho in it,” Dawon told Inseong. His eyes were still closed, but tears were gathering on his lashes. 

He had told Zuho not to make a noise, no matter what he heard, and had locked his little brother in the tight space after placing a brief kiss on his forehead. Zuho’s wide, questioning eyes still haunted his nightmares until this day. He had locked the door and hidden the key in the dirt of a plant on the windowsill. 

“After I made sure Zuho was hidden, it wasn’t long until the door to the room was kicked inwards,” Dawon said, opening his eyes and meeting Inseong’s for the first time since he started telling his story. Inseong frowned when he saw Dawon’s eyes flicker from bright yellow back to the violet he was used to for the man, but was so quick he just thought he was imagining things. He kept stroking the other man’s grey hair as he continued telling his story. “There were so many men with guns. I really thought at that moment I was going to die.” 

Unfortunately, Dawon wasn’t shot. Instead, one of the men grabbed him and began dragging him by the arm. The grip on his arm had been so tight that Dawon had feared the bone would break. The man was dragging him towards the dining hall where he could hear his mother’s sobs. Dawon didn’t want to see what could cause his strong mother to make those broken sounds. When they reached the dining hall, Dawon was thrown to the ground, and his hands landed in something warm. “There was blood everywhere,” Dawon whispered. Inseong grabbed Dawon’s hand, lacing their fingers. 

Dawon’s eyes had fallen on the lifeless eyes of his father’s bodyguards, and he had scrambled backwards until his back met the wall. 

“Bring the kid over here,” a gruff voice had said. Dawon had cried out when a hand had grabbed his hair and begun dragging him towards the voice. His hands had gone up to hold onto the arm that was dragging him, trying to relieve some of the pain in his scalp. He was tossed forward and stumbled into a chair. He looked up to see his mother’s puffy red eyes, tears still running down his cheeks. 

“Dawon,” his mother said. His voice was hoarse, nothing like his usual bell-like voice. 

“Mom,” Dawon whispered. “Where’s dad?” 

Dawon’s mom’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Suddenly Dawon’s hand was grabbed and then yanked behind his back. His other arm was yanked back too, and his wrists were bound tightly with a rough rope. 

“please! Don’t hurt him!” Dawon flinched when the owner of the gruff voice slapped his mother’s face. 

“Tell us what we want to know, and we won’t have to,” the man said. “Otherwise, you’ll have to watch your beautiful little boy be tortured. Then, we’ll bring your husband back in and finish him off.” While the man spoke he was stroking Dawon’s head, and Dawon gulped, meeting his mother’s fear-colored eyes. 

“I already told you, we have only one son,” his mother said. Dawon closed his eyes to keep from crying when the man gripped his hair tightly, wrenching back his head. 

“Wrong answer,” the man said. Dawon cried out when he was suddenly thrown to the floor. “Our information comes from a trusted source. We know there is a younger son.” Dawon looked up from the floor to see the man bending down to glare at him. The man held his hand out and then Dawon saw another man handing him his cigarette. Dawon already knew many things about how to get information from enemies, being raised as the heir to the family. He closed his eyes and it his lip, knowing what was coming and trying to keep himself from reacting for his mother’s sake. Dawon squeezed his eyelids together tighter as he felt the burning sizzle of the cigarette on the skin of his upper arm. 

His mother made a choked noise and said, “Please stop! There is no other son. Ask the boy! He’ll tell you he has no little brother.” 

Dawon gasped as he was pulled up by his hair. When he opened his eyes, the man’s face was so close to his own, their noses were almost touching. “Is that true boy?” the man said. 

Dawon gulped and said, “Yes.” 

“Change of tactics,” the man said. He lifted Dawon up with him when he stood. “String him up and make him watch as we deal with his father. 

“Mama!” Dawon said as he was dragged backwards from his mom. 

“It’ll be okay baby,” he told his eldest as he was pulled back to a hook the men had put in the ceiling when they first infiltrated their house. 

Dawon started crying. His mom hadn’t called him baby in years. He cried out as his arms were yanked backwards and his feet left the ground. He could already feel the strain in his shoulders as they supported all of his weight. He squinted over to see his mother spit in the hoarse-voiced man’s face. The man wiped his face off then slapped Dawon’s mom across the face again. 

The man grabbed a pair of pliers off the tabled and slammed the metal head down on Dawon’s mother’s hand. His mother cried out and Dawon bit his lip to keep from crying out himself. “I’m going to break your fingers, and pull out your nails while your boy watches. And you can watch as your son’s arms pop out of their sockets and he struggles to breathe.” The man ripped two nails out in quick succession. Dawon’s mom whimpered, tears falling steadily down his face. The man caressed his mom’s face and said, “Unless you tell us where yo u r youngest son is hiding.” 

“There is no other son,” Dawon’s mom said through gritted teeth. 

Dawon closed his eyes as his mom cried out with each new crack Dawon heard. How many fingers had the man broken now? Dawon had lost track. His mother’s cries were blending together for him. Dawon’s breaths were coming shorter as the pain and pressure from his strained shoulders made it difficult to breathe. He cracked his eyes open to see that the man had put the pliers down and was frowning. “Bring his husband back in.” 

Dawon had to hold back a gasp as his father was dragged into the room from his study. His father’s once proud shoulders were slumped in a way that looked unnatural. Dawon couldn’t help wondering if that’s what his would look like if he was hung here long enough. Two men dragged his father past him and he couldn’t help but gasp when he saw his father’s bare back. It looked like his father’s back had been ripped to shreds, and Dawon could swear he could see bone from some of the deeper wounds. When Dawon looked down, he saw that his father’s legs had been broken in multiple places. The two men dropped his father on the ground at his mother’s feet. His mother started sobbing when he saw his broken body. The only thing telling them he was still alive was his unsteady breathing. 

“Wake him up,” the man said. 

One of the men stepped forward and kicked Dawon’s father in the ribs. His father gasped, and then groaned, curling inwards instinctively to protect his vulnerable areas. “Bring me the brand,” the man said. When one of the men grabbed the brand from the fireplace Dawon cried. He could see the red-hot glowing stylized dragon in the shape of an “R”, the brand of their rival gang. He knew in that moment that none of them were surviving this, and became determined to protect Zuho at all cost. He cried harder when he smelled and heard flesh burning, and his father’s hoarse cry. His eyes flew open when he heard a gunshot and his mother cry out. He choked on a scream when he saw the blood on the floor under his father’s head. 

In that moment he decided to protect his mother for as long as possible, hoping that Rowoon’s dad would be able to get here with reinforcements in time to save his mother and brother. With his father dead, it was his duty to be strong and protect his remaining family. “Hey, asshole,” he shouted at the man with the hoarse voice. 

“Dawon!” his mother gasped, and Dawon could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew what Dawon was doing. He shook his head and mouthed ‘no’. Dawon just grit his teeth and looked towards the hoarse-voiced man that was scowling and stalking towards him. When the man was standing close enough, and before he could say anything Dawon reared back and head-butted the man. Dawon cried out in pain as his shoulders gave out from the momentum, and popped out of place, restricting his breathing even further. 

“Cut him down!” Dawon hit the ground and his chin clacked against the ground. He tasted the metal taste of his own blood in his mouth and a throbbing pain started in his tongue. He grunted when he felt a sharp kick to his ribs. “Get up boy!” the man said. Dawon struggled to get up without the use of his arms as support or balance. Once he made it to his feet, he sneered at the man in front of him. “You’ve got a smart mouth boy, but you aren’t smart. If you were, you wouldn’t provoke me.” The man gripped Dawon’s chin roughly and drew him closer to him. He brought his lips close to the black-haired boy’s ear and whispered, “I will make you watch as we break your father boy. Even if that means ripping him apart, limb by limb.” 

As the man pulled back, Dawon spit the blood pooling in his mouth in the man’s face. The man back-handed Dawon before wiping his face. He grabbed Dawon by the arm, making the boy cry out in pain. He dragged Dawon over to his mother, Dawon tripping over his father’s body when he was tossed towards the chair across from his mother. “We are going to kill you both, then we are going to scour this house for your youngest son.” 

“You won’t find anything. Please, just let my son go. He’s all I care about. All I have left.” Dawon met his mom’s eyes and shook his head at him. He needed to survive to take care of Zuho. If Dawon died it was okay, but his mother needed to survive. Zuho needed their mother. 

“No, we will end your parasitic family line tonight,” the man said. He snapped his fingers at one of his underlings. One man grabbed the brand from the fireplace and another went behind Dawon’s mother, gripping his shoulders. The man with the hoarse voice ripped open his mother’s button down, grabbing the glowing brand from the underling. “One last chance boy. Tell us where your brother is, and I’ll make all your deaths quick and painless.” 

Dawon met his mother’s eyes and knew that at least Zuho could survive this night and said, “Fuck you!” 

The man sneered and pressed the brand to his mother’s left pectoral. Dawon gritted his teeth and kicked the man in the back. The man grunted, and turned towards Dawon. “Bring me the other one,” the man said, passing the brand to one of his underlings. Another man brought back another brand with the same stylized dragon glowing red. Dawon flinched as his sore shoulders were grabbed from behind, and the man ripped his shirt open. Dawon met his mother’s tear-filled eyes, and noticed that for the first time tonight they were the bright yellow of sadness and not the black of fear. He knew that his mother was sadder that Dawon was being hurt than he was scared for himself and his sons. 

Dawon cried out as the blazing hot metal met the skin of his abdomen. The white-hot pain seared through his nerve endings, and Dawon sobbed. Even after the metal was pulled from his skin, the pain continued to blaze. “Hold the boy’s eyes open, I want him to see this,” the man said. Dawon felt two large hands grip his head and strong fingers hold open his eyes. He watched the man grab a knight from the table and his eyes begin to tear as he watched the man slit his mother’s neck. He met his mother’s eyes as he choked on his blood. It wasn’t a quick or painless death, and Dawon held eye contact with his mother until he took his last breath and the life left his eyes. Dawon choked on a sob and clenched his eyes shut when the man’s fingers left his face. 

“Sir! The Knights of the Sun have backup coming!” 

“Damnit!” the hoarse-voiced man shouted. Something crashed against the wall, shattering and Dawon forced his eyes open to see what was happening. One of his mother’s favorite vases was shattered on the floor, and Dawon felt his blood begin to boil. 

“Kill the boy, then get the hell out of here,” the man said before leaving the room at a brisk pace. 

Dawon gulped as he saw one of the men take out his gun. He clenched his eyes shut and just thanked whatever deity watched over their species on this planet, that his brother was still safely hidden. 

Dawon looked up at Inseong, eyes completely dry now as he continued telling the younger man his story. “They shot me in the stomach and left me there to die slowly. By the time Rowoon’s dad arrived I was still alive but just barely, and I wasn’t coherent enough to tell them where Zuho was.” 

Dawon turned on his side so he could press his face to Inseong’s abdomen. The smell of the man and the feel of his gentle touch in his hair were just like his mother, and it made Dawon sob. “If I had just been stronger I could have distracted them long enough for Rowoon’s dad to get there with my mother still alive.” 

Inseong clucked his tongue at the older man and said, “Nonsense Dawon. You were so brave and strong. Because of you, your younger brother is alive and well today. Don’t ever say you weren’t strong.” Dawon cried harder and hugged the other man’s abdomen. He drew his knees closer to his chest when he heard the door open, hoping whoever it was would leave quickly, and his vulnerable moment wouldn’t spread like wildfire through the family. 

He could feel the heaviness, that had weighed down his shoulders for years, lifting in Inseong’s presence. He didn’t want that ruined by a family member with a loose tongue. “Don’t worry it was just Rowoon,” Inseong said. 

Dawon sighed, knowing Rowoon wouldn’t tell anyone but Zuho what he saw, and he was relieved. He pulled back to look at Inseong and said, “Can I sleep here tonight?” 

“Of course,” Inseong said. Before this he had hated this man, not understanding why he acted so strange or had such violent outbursts. But now, looking at Dawon, Inseong saw a broken boy that had never healed as he became a man. 

Dawon moved to lay with his back to Inseong, but Inseong grabbed his shoulder and said, “Come here.” Dawon turned to see Inseong had lay down and was gesturing for Dawon to join him under a soft, cozy-looking baby pink blanket. 

Dawon smiled with a quivering lip and still wet cheeks and said, “Thanks,” before cuddling close to the younger man. 

Inseong wrapped his arms around the smaller man and held him close. As the man’s stuttering breaths began to even out, Inseong couldn’t help but feel like he needed to coddle and protect this man. 

~*~*~*~*~ 


End file.
